On 2005-04-03 11:13:59 -0400, "Helowriter" said:

Apaches were closed out of Kosovo in part by radar-directed threats,
and RF MANPADS in the future are not out of the question.

1. Most of what kept TF Hawk (i believe it was called) out of Kosovo
was the Army's characteristic really, really, REALLY bad staff work.

Note that where employed, the Apaches have protected the lives of the
crews but throw an Apache battalion against a hard-fighting enemy armed
with anything bigger than spitballs and the unit loses combat
effectiveness.

The Pentagon is busted. It is all about buying weapons, but every
weapon they buy is supposed to replace two others, costs five times as
much, etc. etc.

All of this brings us back to the original topic - the Presidential
Helicopter... The Navy just chose the
biggest box f

2. My source (which is in Sikorsky) says that they were told that the
project required a specific piece of classified equipment which did not
fit in the S-92 airframe. Since the dimensions of the cargo compartment
are functionally identical except for length, my personal assessment of
that is: bull****.

3. You have mentioned the pending AF HH-x competition. Any of the
contenders, even the NH-90, would be a quantum improvement over the
H-60, which is currently striving hard and falling short in that role,
but the proposal seems to have been written to require the EH 101. It
looks like the fix is in.

4. The other fella mentioned Comanche as a technology program. Sikorsky
has certainly salvaged what it could from it. The rotor on the -92 and
the new rotor for the S-76D incorporate aerodynamic knowledge that came
from the Comanche project.

5. Part of the problem is the consolidation of the aerospace and
defence industry that was forced by the DOD of the nineties. An
incredibly dumb decision that put skilled people out of work and
brain-drained the industry by some fifty to seventy percent, on top of
downsizing-driven losses. Now the DOD has a cartel of two contractors
to buy from on most projects. Sikorsky is rare in hanging on to its
independence.

Can it, after a couple more contracts get dealt overseas for political reasons?

Contrast this with the UK MOD decision on a replacement for aging
battlefield and naval helicopters. They went sole-source to Agusta
Westland.

--
cheers

-=K=-

Rule #1: Don't hit anything big.