Kevin Brooks wrote:

snip

I think we'll see an off-the-shelf purchase of a
new LUH; the possibility of a Bell 412 in military colors is not unrealistic
(and probably more likely than the Huey II refurbishment program), destined
for primarily ARNG service. The OH-58C's currently in use by ARNG outfits
that have lost their Cobras and/or Hueys can't last long.

BTW, here's the actual DoD transcript with the announcement and the details of
where the money's going.:

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcrip...0223-0484.html

Doesn't a Huey, especially a 412, seem rather much for replacing OH-58Cs?
Militarized Bell 407s or 430s ("Son of AirHawk!") I could see, or something
similar (hey, Howard Hughes is still dead, so maybe we could buy more OH/AH-6s
at a reasonable price). Or at a step up in size, AB-139s. Smaller than a Huey,
but larger than a Loach, and should be a lot less maintenance-intensive. If
you're going to buy new 4 blade Hueys you might as well just buy more UH-60s and
have done with it (which is apparently what is being done, along with CH-47Fs,
UAVs etc.)

Guy