Originally Posted by
noooby
And yet the RNZAF NH-90's just seem to keep on trucking. Even into an active volcano this week to drop in a team to recover bodies.
Makes you wonder what the RNZAF is doing different. Perhaps they just know how to make things work. Like their Seasprites. Been in service now for 20 odd years and the Aussies gave up on ever getting them into service.
Look a bit deeper, the NZ Defence Minister called them "Unreliable Money Guzzlers" , and said in the past NZ bought the wrong helicopter but are stuck with it for the next 20+ years, the previous Govt's defence minister questioned the on going costs of the NH-90 were far above projected costs, yes the Kiwi's are stuck with a POS like the Aussies.
The ADF know they are stuck with a Lemon to the extent the reports on it in the list of "projects of concern" have had restricted security classification put on them so they can't be released to the press, the Army never wanted the MRH , they already had new syllabuses already written up for pilot upgrade training and technician ground schools for the UH-60M when the Govt chose the MRH , wasting all the time and effort already put in to what was believed by every one in the ADF was the obvious choice, the UH-60M.
In the CT role the MRH can't do what a Black Hawk can to the extent the Army are planning on the future light CT helo will take a lot of the roles currently done by the Black Hawk but can't be done by the MRH.