Genuine question here. I asked a colleague when I was in AFG why we were still operating chinooks 50 Years after they first flew. His response was ‘how many different ways can you invent a flying box.
With upgrades of rotors, engines, avionics. All of which are becoming lighter and more efficient and therefore better fuel economy.
Does there come a stage when people go full design of a new helicopter = X.
Upgrade of components to an existing design = Y
If X is greater than Y, upgrade. When does X become less than Y.
432 for example. How many times can you design an armoured box? Upgraded to Bulldog and it does the job.
I mean, ultimately, the navy’s after a flying fuel tank that can plop things into the water, lift people out of the water or land on the water/ship/land to transfer people.
I’ll accept that product life cycles mean that if you don’t design new things, you loose the design capability.