Following a deadly crash in July during a joint military exercise with the United States, Australia has announced its decision to retire its fleet of Taipan helicopters earlier than planned. The crash claimed the lives of four Australian aircrew members. Defence Minister Richard Marles stated that the Taipan fleet will not resume flying operations before the scheduled withdrawal date of December 2024, as the government proceeds with the deployment of its new Black Hawk helicopter fleet. Marles commented, “The first of the 40 Black Hawks that will replace the (Taipan) MRH-90 have arrived and are already flying in Australia. We are focused on seeing their introduction to service as quickly as possible.”
In January, Australia revealed its plan to purchase 40 Black Hawk military helicopters, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, for an estimated cost of A$2.8 billion ($1.80 billion). The intention was to replace the Australian army’s troubled fleet of Taipan helicopters, which have long been plagued by maintenance problems. Marles mentioned that 47 Taipans had been deployed since their induction.
Taipans are produced by NHIndustries, a company jointly controlled by Airbus and Italy’s Leonardo. However, Airbus and Leonardo have yet to respond to requests for comment regarding Australia’s decision to retire its Taipan fleet.
In a decision deemed “legally groundless” by the manufacturer, Norway announced in 2022 that it would return the NH90 military helicopters it had ordered from NHIndustries due to their unreliability and delayed delivery.
Following the July crash off the coast of Queensland state, Australia grounded its Taipan fleet and declared that the helicopters would not fly again until the findings of a thorough investigation were published. Marles acknowledged that the investigations, consisting of four separate inquiries, would take an extended period, with one of them anticipated to last a year.
Marles recognized that there would be “capability challenges” without an operational Taipan fleet and during the wait for the delivery of additional Black Hawks. The initial three Black Hawks have already arrived in Australia and commenced flying in the current month.
To mitigate possible impacts on defence, Marles revealed that Australia had been exploring options to expedite the delivery of Black Hawks and to conduct aircrew training with allies, including the United States.
($1 = 1.5557 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
