....and I fall for it every damned time.

But seriously, Mi-8 vs. MH-60R is apples vs. oranges.
A fairer match-up might be vs CH-47, but Chinooks are very long in the tooth and more to the point,
no one is touting them for PAF.
What the hell, some factors that render the Hip as inferior actually stand independent of fruit-type.
Foremost is yes, readiness rates, which ties directly into three problems: the first two being MIC of 75
hrs, and a very low quality assurance in the parts-supply chain, with complaints of replacement parts
being out of spec. It's not enough to say that Maintenance/Inspection is pinged every 75h, since the
real problem is how long the aircraft spends in downtime each time, and there are no reliable figures
to lean on precisely because of the third issue: Russian protocols wrt to Maintenance/Inspection are
different --documentation is poor, and this is one reason why .ru aircraft have failed to make greater
commercial inroads to Europe. Russian safety assurance standards are simply not up to Western snuff.
At least with MH-60, the OEM can claim readiness of 98%, or stated another way, a MTBOMF of roughly
20 hrs (albeit for Knighthawk, not necessarily Romeo).
The key factor in readiness, apart from better quality control in parts-supply, has been CBM: US rotary
air has benefited greatly from onboard livetime monitoring of an aircraft's systems, such that the MIC
of Knighthawk is 168 hrs compared to Hip's 75 hrs. That's a palpable indicator of superior readiness
for the 'hawk --even before we get to quantifying the DOWNTIME per cycle.
CPFH? We can try to eliminate the disparity in ground/air crew wages between RU and US by using
information from a Western operator of Mi-17, Berliner Spezialflug, which suggests a Hip CPFH (as
flown to quasi-Western safety standards) of around US$4,375, unadjusted for inflation since 2000,
or IOW US$5,900+ in 2013 ...versus US$5,000 for a Romeo 'hawk also in 2013.
Again, apples vs oranges, but those were the platforms mentioned initially.
Other capability-based differences are too dependent on fruit-type
What CAN be surmised is this:
If you want to hemorrhage operating funds AND have sh
it-low readiness, go with the Hip.
https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=793811https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/documents/rates/fy2016/2016_f_h.pdfhttps://www.rotorandwing.com/2005/04/01/making-maintenance-manageable/http://fortcampbellcourier.com/news/article_4d207ff6-8ce2-11e2-89f7-001a4bcf887a.htmlhttps://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-186762.html