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from the thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump dept.
Ars Technica is reporting that the Italian-made MH-139 helicopter beat out two other bids to replace the UH-1 after the programme was put out for bidding.
Just in time to avoid the end of the fiscal year, the US Air Force has finally selected a successor to the aged UH-1 Hueys used by the Air Force's nuclear missile security force: the MH-139, a militarized version of the AgustaWestland AW139 from the Italian aerospace and defense company Leonardo. The MH-139 was a joint bid by Leonardo and Boeing and will be built in the United States at Leonardo's facilities in Philadelphia. The award this morning is for $375 million, covering delivery of the first four helicopters. But the overall program could be worth up to $2.4 billion, delivering up to 84 helicopters, as well as training systems and support equipment.
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Wednesday September 26 2018, @10:06AM (6 children)
This will turn out to be an expensive mistake. Anything resembling "big business" in Italy is infested by Mafia interests, who will cut corners and substitute cheaper, substandard parts / materials wherever they can.
The consequences are predictably dire: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/17/italys-crumbling-infrastructure-under-scrutiny-after-bridge-collapse [theguardian.com]
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday September 26 2018, @10:34AM
> Anything resembling "big business" in Italy is infested by Mafia interests, who will cut corners and substitute cheaper, substandard parts / materials wherever they can.
Yeah. The F35 with its AI-driven toilet paper dispenser, or the HELL-I-copter with the blades made of well seasoned Parmigiano. I say, make more nukes.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by marcello_dl on Wednesday September 26 2018, @10:40AM
> Anything resembling "big business" in Italy is infested by Mafia interests
Technically it's the other way round, big business infiltrated mafia.
Unless you subscribe to the theory that mafia is at its upper layers a secret society, not a resistance movement that found criminal activity too comfortable. In this case mafia=massoneria=finance.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Aiwendil on Wednesday September 26 2018, @10:56AM (2 children)
Joint bid with Boeing, will be built in Philadelphia...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 26 2018, @12:44PM
So, not (seasoned) Parmigiano but a spreadable one? ;)
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmigiano_Reggiano [wikipedia.org]
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_(formaggio) [wikipedia.org]
CYA
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 26 2018, @12:50PM
*And you wake up in the morning...*
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Wednesday September 26 2018, @11:53AM
Good luck with that.
The Dutch have had some bad experiences with Italian made helicopters and trains: Made in Italy [medium.com].
The helicopters can't be used by the navy because they rust near seawater and the trains had so many failures they were ultimately sent back to Italy.