Australia rejects Ukraine helicopter request

[helispotter]

Originally Posted by gsa

Wonder if those are the 5 new ones that were bought to replace the Gazelle in NI before the role was no longer there. They’ve been trying to move them on.

ADM also report / speculate: "In 2022 the MoD ordered five more helicopters from Airbus to replace British Army Aerospatiale Gazelle light helicopters deployed in Northern Ireland. However, in February 2023, it was reported that the aircraft had been mothballed before entering service due to the security situation in Northern Ireland improving... It is likely therefore that these five helicopters, which are almost-brand-new, will enter service with the Australian Army as part of the lease", see:

https://www.australiandefence.com.au...sh-helicopters

My guess is that these are not so much intended as 'training' helicopters rather, as a gap filler between the 'early' retirement of the MRH90 and the acquisition of the full fleet of UH-60M simply to keep Army pilots 'current'. In the following article the ABC reports "Three Black Hawks are already here, and all 40 of the new fleet are expected to arrive by the end of the decade."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-...aine/103434286

Would be interesting to hear about the complete timeframe for the "accelerated" delivery of the UH-60M. Australian Aviation reports "...Army will have a fleet of 12 this year" (2024) and provides further commentary on the H135 lease from the UK in this article:

https://australianaviation.com.au/20...-to-australia/

At such a delivery rate, it could be expected the full 40 could be delivered by around 2027 unless the 'acceleration' of delivery is just an initial burst of activity by redirecting helicopters intended for the US military?

Incidentally, it seems from the ABC and other media reports that there are at least some in the Army aircraft maintenance ranks (while perhaps retired) who are willing to put time into sustaining the MRH90 / NH90, even their own time. I still feel there is more to this story than is out in public view. In my career, I have seen people favouring a particular capability (supplier) with no clear justification almost as if they are obsessed. I have also proposed seeking out alternative supplier options where we had struggled with one of our suppliers even acknowledging any fault with their (non-aviation) equipment. In the latter case, another defence force ditched that same supplier over the same equipment while we have persisted. So I can see there can be at least two sides to the MRH90 / Blackhawk story.