The Australian defense minister yesterday explicitly referenced the “growing threat” posed by China as he announced the intention to dump the country’s trouble-plagued MRH90 Taipan helicopters, which were originally due to be withdrawn in 2037.
Opposition politicians reacted to the decision by branding the administration of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as “the worst national security government in our country’s history” and defense procurement as “an absolute mess.”
Australia bought 47 of the Taipans as a replacement for its Black Hawk and Sea King helicopter fleets, but the multibillion-dollar deal, struck under former Australian prime minister John Howard, has been listed as a “project of concern” since 2011.
Photo: AP
The entire fleet was in 2019 grounded amid serious concerns about the tail rotor blades, and 27 aircraft were last year grounded to fix cabin sliding door rails.
Yesterday’s announcement marks the second major project scrapping on Australian Minister of Defence Peter Dutton’s watch, after plans to procure French-designed conventional submarines were in September axed, although a major difference is that the Taipans are already in service.
The helicopters are used by the Australian Army — including to provide support to special operations — while the country’s navy also relies on them for maritime support.
The Australian government has now formally requested advice from the US on the acquisition of up to 40 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for its army “as an alternative platform to the MRH90 Taipan.”
Dutton said that the Taipans had been found to be “unreliable” and the government would buy up to 40 Black Hawk helicopters.
The new ones would hopefully be in service “over the next couple of years,” Dutton said, adding that they would not be built or designed in Australia because it was important to “achieve capability sooner than later.”
Dutton — who was has been accused of ramping up national security rhetoric for political purposes as a federal election looms — said that 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,” Dutton said.
Dutton said that Japan, India, European countries and NATO were also “worried about the military buildup by the Chinese government”.
Dutton last month said that it would be “inconceivable” that Australia would not come to Taiwan’s aid if the US joined a military effort to defend the nation against an invasion attempt by China.
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