John Dixon wrote:
If that proves true, then SA will then be left with a machine sized/priced for the international scout market, whatever that may be, but a significant bit too small to enter the S-76/AW-139 market.
'International' is what its all about. Can the USA afford to let foreign (Russian? Chinese? Indian?) competitors design and perfect new designs whilst its own manufacturers keep rehashing the 1960s designs, however good they are?
A modern technology airframe, perhaps with limited system capability, out there in the field, earning export dollars and building up hours, would allow a breathing space for the advanced systems destined for US Army machines to be perfected, until Uncle Sam can afford to buy it.
You only need to look at the British motorcycle industry in the 1960s and the US automobile industry in the 1970s, to see what happens if you rest on your laurels.
The real question isn't whether the USA can afford to put 21st Century technology helicopters into production, but can it afford not to?