Since the other thread was deleted.
Article in The Age newspaper today.
Tiger helicopters ready to fly: maker
Dan Oakes, Marseille
October 16, 2010
AUSTRALIAN attack helicopters are unable to operate in Afghanistan because Defence has insisted on ultra-strict night flying specifications, according to an aircraft manufacturer.
Head of Eurocopter's government programs Dominique Maudet told The Age yesterday that Defence wanted a standard of external lighting above and beyond that used on similar Tiger helicopters the French military had flown successfully in Afghanistan in the past year.
The disclosure came a day after the Australian Defence Force urged the Dutch government to keep its Apache attack helicopters in Oruzgan province, while simultaneously claiming the Tigers were not needed in the restive southern province.
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''The French have flown more than 1300 hours in Afghanistan with the current lighting system,'' Mr Maudet said. ''The specificity of the Australian request will be met by this modification, but [the existing system] does not prevent at all the Tiger to fly at night.''
Mr Maudet believes the request stems from incidents in the past involving other makes of helicopter.
In 1996, 18 soldiers were killed when two Blackhawk helicopters crashed during a training exercise near Townsville. There were claims, later disproved, that the crash was due to defective night-vision goggles.
''Australia has very, very high sensitivity about this issue in the past, which led the Commonwealth of Australia to very specific demands compared to the French,'' Mr Maudet said.
The Coalition recently called for six Tiger attack helicopters, additional troops and other military hardware to be sent to Afghanistan.
Australian troops make up 1500 of the 1800-strong coalition contingent in Oruzgan, but they rely on logistical support from other nations in the combined force.
Defence has said it could be two years before Australia's Tiger helicopters are ready for deployment in Afghanistan Mr Maudet said 13 of 22 Tigers ordered had been delivered.
Dan Oakes travelled to Marseille on a tour sponsored by Eurocopter.