The usual bunch of 'nay-sayers' are having a field day with this --
I sometimes I wonder if they have different versions of their arguments ready so they can knock whichever option is successful. This is from a bloke who has criticised many defence procurements in his time.
yup.
I sometimes think people confuse real issues and actual trade offs and decisions with minor gripes that are not deal breakers. I noticed that seems to be the thing a lot of these articles lock onto. Much like a successful marriage, work and adjustments and annoyances are not deal breakers, I wouldn't divorce my wife because she chews her food too loud when she has fried chicken. people have a hard time differentiating between a serious concern and some detail that needs to be accounted for, but the all other aircraft have those too. There are no perfect weapons.
Some of these gripes are just relics leftover from times before a lot of the complainers were even born, I'm still seeing complaints about the F-15 being "too complex" its amazing.
Anywho, I am hoping this is the start of more US Navy use, from ASW to SAR, even Naval Special Warfare. Vertical lift is never short of work.