That was one wild helo! Too bad they decided to cancel it.
It seems to me the best bet for selling to the Pentagon (and Congress) is to avoid the “bleeding edge” of technology. Make it solid and affordable, with lots of aces up your sleeve in the form of room for growth.
It took Bell a while to learn, but look how far they’ve stretched the original Jet Ranger to the current OH-58 Kiowa. Northrup did the same with the F-5 -> YF-17 -> F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Sikorsky has kept the CH-53 in play for a long time as has Lockheed with the C-130.
Of course, it never hurts to have someone like LBJ pulling the strings for you! ;-)