I think he meant SAR, not ISAR. They will certainly want the GMTI mode as well. While the Army wanted a flying supercharged Landrover , they are going to get a flying BMW X3, so now they have realised they need to reinvent a role as the 'X3' can't do their current role overseas. In fact, it is only good enough for the school run, ie, just up the road and back (via the petrol station). Looks good though with lots of fancy Sat Nav systems and DVD players for the troops to watch in the back. That 'new' role seems to be that of scouting out targets for AH as the Gazelle did. (and finally getting to the point after my waffle........)GMTI would be great for this role. As with a BMW X3, the AAC should be more concerned about fuel burn rates. It doesnt take a genius to work out that a bulky aircraft, so less efficient aerodynamically, which is a fair bit heavier but with the same fuel load is going to have endurance/range issues in Hot'n'Heavy conditions. I very much doubt engine efficiency will make up the delta. I would love to see a comparison of Lynx 7, 9A and Wildcat in Afgan while trying to keep up with Chinooks, Merlins or even SK4.
On the plus side, it's going to be a great improvement for the RN. They will rarely need to bomb around at 140kts with such an good EO device and radar. Still lacks a proper data link though.
The AAC should have embraced the project from the start when it was BRH and made changes/additions early on (like DNVG). To be fair, I doubt that would have helped as the MOD was always going to be told by the government to let Westland (or Restlands) win the contract instead of the Blackhawks, or am I being too cynical?