New Black Hawk would kind of make sense even now. The progressive upgrades have really improved lift capability, and the ability to piggy back on the US Army logistics pipeline could be helpful. But even built in Poland, they can't come cheap.
If the new GE T901 lives up to its claims, 50% more power, 25% better fuel consumption and reduced life cycle costs, would bring substantial increase in capabilities to Black Hawk. Not sure if the time cycle for the T901 ISD of 2024? would match Puma replacement schedule. End of last year Boeing awarded $240 million contract to integrate the T901 into the Apache.
Do the stats on the graph make any sense?
Is the range with 9 troops really just 100km? I've seen a quoted UH-60M combat range of 590km...
And how can you fit 10 extra troops into a cabin only large enough for 11 troops? Even a 9 + 10 case wouldn't fit.
I assume they're using human figures as a physical description of the additional payload capacity but even so its misleading, they could have just said "we can carry 3,650lb more load" and even then that's mostly going to be slung loads given the cabin size.
I must confess I have no feelings in my bones how this will go:
a) Leonardo to keep Yeovil open to align with all the MoD industrial strategy guff we keep hearing about
b) Airbus to keep some UK workshare but at least its shiny new kit
c) S-70i to keep in with the Poles (who knows what BoJo promised them this week?)
d) Refurbed UH-60s cos its cheap
e) Trotter Aviation Puma Mk.3 cos its even cheaper, lovely jubbley!
f) Scrap the whole thing, spend another 12 months thinking up new specs and issue a new a goldplated spec
I'd hope for a or even b, but given the MoD track record any option seems likely.
Many years ago I had access to some drawings which featured multiple Chinooks with folded rotors in a below-deck hangar. The implication there is that someone - and I don't know who - thought that a fully navalised Chinook (including powered folding) was a good idea.
I think those comparisons were done during the SKR work.
Of course it's quite odd because the Chinook was nearly acquired under ASR.358 for the ASW role in the mid-60s so presumably back then some naval bod must have been tasked with working out exactly how much hangar space was needed. So it can't have been a secret, probably lost in institutional memory fade...