The real question isn't whether the USA can afford to put 21st Century technology helicopters into production, but can it afford not to?
Have we ever entered a War fully prepared and ready to go with State of the Art Equipment all the way round....fully staffed, trained, and ready to go?
We can look at every War....pick one....and we can show examples of what was missing as we just cannot bring ourselves to spend the money we need on the right systems, aircraft, ships, and the like.
When we go up against the Chinese....we better have our Ducks in a Row or they will eat our lunch. At some point technology alone cannot win the day....it will take numbers.
Now anyone want to guess when the Lakota's show up in Combat....knowing the promise is they never would?