Australia announced today that it will retire its Taipan (NH-90) helicopters earlier than expected, after one crashed last July, killing its four crew. Defense Minister Richard Marles said: “The NH-90 fleet will not return to operational status.” While this was supposed to happen in December 2024.
Last January, the country announced the purchase of 40 Black Hawk helicopters manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin at a cost of $1.80 billion (1.70 billion euros). Australia maintains 47 Taipan helicopters in service But Black Hawk helicopters have already begun to arrive in the country and their inclusion in the armed forces has been launched.
NH-90 aircraft in Australia had problems with their flight control system, engine reliability and performance in severe weather conditions, and were difficult and problematic to maintain. This had the effect of reducing availability to levels… Greece. In addition, Australia faced problems in training pilots and maintenance technicians.
The Australian Department of Defense will continue to use the CH-47F Chinook, Tiger and MH-60R Seahawk helicopters in order to maintain vital air capability for its armed forces. From 2025, new AH-64E Apache helicopters will enter service to replace the troubled Tigers as well.
With data from APE-MPE
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