If the USMC already has "a remanufacturing program" to convert their UH-1N aircraft to the UH-1Y standard  and that provides "New rotors, rebuilt airframes and new electronics will make the aircraft more capable, and eventually bring maintenance cost savings of about $14 million per aircraft," why the hell don't the wing-wipers just cycle their UH-1N 'copters through an expansion of the Marine Corps program to gain those proven advantages?

 

More Air Force "not invented here" crap, no doubt.

The marines are also converting their AH-1Ws (the AH version of the UH-1N) to AH-1Zs.  They have something like a 60% parts in common between the 2 aircraft.  That is something both Army and the Air Force need to learn to do, and would save both services a bundle.