Australia is ditching its entire fleet of European-made Taipan battlefield helicopters for 40 Sikorsky Black Hawks and 12 Seahawks from the United States. Canberra confirmed Friday the $U.S.10 billion switch will be made as quickly as possible.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the Army and Navy will scrap the 47 “unreliable” MRH-90 Taipans which have been running since 2007 as Australia looks to deepen its already strong ties to the U.S. in military procurement.
Dutton said the decision would benefit Australia’s defence teams as they look to further engagement in the troubled Indo-Pacific region.
“For the interoperability with the U.S. and Australia which is increasingly important for us given the instability in our region, the Black Hawk made perfect sense,'” he said.
Australian Army personnel prepare a Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawk helicopter for a flight around the city of Melbourne, Australia. (Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)
“They are much cheaper to fly than what the Taipans were, the Taipans have been unreliable, they haven’t lived up to the expectations. By bringing in up to 40 new Black Hawks, it gives us a capability, we will maintain our edge in the region.”
Australia’s latest move to imported U.S. weaponry comes after the government dumped a $U.S.90 billion program to build 12 French-designed submarines and instead chose nuclear-based boats to be built under the AUKUS partnership with the U.S. and UK.
It’s the latest move to ramp up security amid ongoing tensions between Australia and China, with Dutton explaining Australia could only deter “catastrophic outcomes” from “a position of strength.”
“I’ve been very clear about what I see as a growing threat within the Indo-Pacific, and I want the Australian Defence Force to have at its disposal the most effective equipment and the most highly trained people to deal with that reality,” the minister said.
Dutton said Japan, India, European countries and NATO were also “worried about the military build-up by the Chinese government.”
The move to bolster Australia’s helicopter fleet signals an even closer move by Canberra to Washington, seven months after it was announced new main battle tanks will also be sourced from America, as Breitbart News reported.
That deal is valued at $1.685 billion and sees the United States selling 160 M1A1 tank structures to build M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams Main Battle Tanks, M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles and other vehicles.
Britain’s Prince William and Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh arrive by Australian Army Black Hawk helicopter in the cyclone-hit town of Cardwell on March 19, 2011 at the start of the royal tour of flood and cyclone-ravaged eastern Australia. (TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP via Getty Images)
UPI reports the principal contractors for that deal would be General Dynamics Land Systems, BAE Systems Leonardo DRS and Honeywell Aerospace.
In a second second deal, valued at $259 million, Australia will buy an additional four Boeing CH-47F cargo helicopters and related equipment.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) currently has 10 CH-47F Chinooks which replaced seven legacy CH-47Ds operated since 1995.
All are operated by the Australian Army from Townsville in the northern state of Queensland.