Let's stick to the facts
Let's try an stick to the facts.
Two companies/teams were selected by the DOD to build JMR demonstrator aircraft, Bell and the Sikorsky-Boeing team.
By customer requirement BOTH contract recipients committed to flying their aircraft by the last quarter of 2017.
During contract negotiations Bell requested additional schedule time to achieve first flight. The DOD refused however because the Sikorsky Boeing team claimed they could meet the 2017 first flight date.
Now just months before the comitted fly date the Sikorsky Boeing team reveals they are at least half a year behind schedule.
I have good friends at Sikorsky, Boeing and Bell. And in my 40 years in aerospace I have worked for or been a supplier to all three companies.
Sikorsky and Boeing upon being selected for a JMR contract was declared the dream team by the media, and the media questioned how Bell could even compete against the two largest defense companies in the US.
Time will tell which aircraft, if any is ever selected for production. But if I was the US Army I would give preference to the supplier that was open, honest, and busted their tails to meet contract commitments.