Australia will replace European MRH 90 Taipan helicopters with American Black Hawk
Australia will abandon the operation of European MRH 90 Taipan helicopters developed by Eurocopter. Canberra will replace the MRH 90 with American Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. This is reported by Defense News.
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said that the MRH 90 Taipan multipurpose helicopters will be decommissioned ten years ahead of schedule. The country plans to buy 40 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.
The rejection of European helicopters was explained by the high cost of maintenance. Initially, the aircraft were planned to operate until 2037. Dutton stressed that the purchase of the UH-60M will save about $1.8 billion until 2037.
The publication notes that the application for the purchase of new helicopters coincided with the rejection of the outdated S-70A-9 Black Hawk. MRH 90 helicopters were purchased to replace the Bell UH-1H Iroquois, Westland Sea King Mk.50A/B and S-70A-9 Black Hawk.
The MRH 90 is based on the NHI NH90 helicopter, developed by the Eurocopter consortium. The combat load of the machine is 700 kilograms. The MRH 90 can carry guided missiles, bombs and anti-submarine torpedoes.
Earlier, a RIA Novosti source in the military-industrial complex reported on the supply of Mi-8AMTSh-VN helicopters to the Russian armed forces. Fire support helicopters will be delivered under two contracts.
