NWS,
This aircraft will definitely fill a niche as it can do things that no other aircraft can do. It has a max cruise speed of 275kts and a range with aux tanks of up to 1100 nm. It will never replace airplanes or helicopters. In order for it to be successful the normal routine mission has to require a vertical take off and landing at least at one end of the journey - otherwise a fixed wing turboprop would be cheaper flying airport to airport. The minimum normal distance flown routinely should be greater than 150 to 200nm - otherwise a helicopter would be more economical. (other variables like number of pax, total payload req'd, etc. must be considered too)
In this part of the world the 609 will be very popular for VVIP transport - or palace to palace transport as we like to call it. The aircraft will be expensive, in the area of $24 mil USD as one AW exec alluded to, but over here that amount is a drop in the bucket. In addition to the added speed that is so important to heads of state and other VIPs (time is money), the added security of not having to go through an international airport is a huge plus. They can take off from their palace to any location in the region.
Military applications here are clear too. From the UAE the 609 can reach any naval vessel in the Persian Gulf or Arabian Sea unrefueled in a shorter time than any helicopter can do. They can also rapidly deploy a small number of people anywhere in the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the west coast of India, or anywhere in Iran
if they need to.
SAR operations that use fixed-wing a/c to locate distressed vessels at sea and then call out helicopters could use the 609 to locate and perform a rescue all in one. Or the 609s could wait for the call out from a FW and respond in a much shorter period of time out to further distances than existing VTOL aircraft. Or as mentioned, they could reduce the number of helicopter bases and spread them out with the increased range and speed capability available.
EMS operaters could use 609s in places like western Canada, the outback in Australia, the Midwest US, and many other locations to conduct flights in vast sparsely populated areas with a quick response time over long distances that no other aircraft could perform.
On the corporate side, a company that uses a helicopter to fly their execs from their HQ to an airport, then take a turboprop or small jet to another airport where the execs get out and go to their manufacturing plant, could instead take a 609 direct from HQ to the plant without needing the helicopter, airplane, and limo.
In the offshore market the potential future is good when the price of oil climbs back up. Only long haul requirements will be viable for 609 ops. Heli One approached Sikorsky some years back asking about the viability of doing 600nm trips up in the arctic with an S-92. They were told it could be done by carrying additional fuel in the passenger compartment, but they would only be able to carry 7 to 9 passengers. The 609 could accomplish this type of mission more efficiently. Of course on shorter distance routes with larger passenger requirements the 609 would not be able to compete.
You can go on and on with possibilities. In the end it will be a balance of cost over importance of speed and range that determines how many 609s will be needed. When the aircraft comes out and begins regular use by customers that is when we will begin to see all the potential missions that can be performed efficiently compared to other modes of transportation. Interesting to see that the main stream media (as opposed to the industry media) is just learning that a/c exists! See NBC video:
Tilt-rotor goes commercial - NBC News