Australia sends helicopters requested by Ukraine for decommissioning
Illustrative photo (army.gov.au)
Australia has decided to dismantle and dispose of decommissioned Taipan helicopters instead of sending them to Ukraine, reports ABC.
In September of last year, the MRH-90 helicopters of the Australian army were taken out of service 14 months earlier than the planned term, following a crash that occurred two months prior during training in Queensland, resulting in the loss of four military personnel.
Initially scheduled for decommissioning in 2037, these European-designed helicopters faced issues leading to the grounding of the entire fleet for many years.
Despite documented safety and operational concerns, Ukraine officially requested the supply of MRH-90 on December 19, 2023.
The report states that the Australian government intends to decommission 45 helicopters.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, expressed hope for the possibility of transferring the helicopters, saying he is "hoping that there's still a possibility … because we didn't get any reply yet."
On the secondary market, each helicopter costs around 20 million dollars.
About NH90 Taipan
NH90 Taipan is a twin-engine, medium-sized multi-role military helicopter. The NH90 is the first serial helicopter fully equipped with fly-by-wire flight control. There are two main variants: Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) for army use and NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) for naval operations.
