Page 10 - Australian Defence Magazine February 2022

10 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
FEBRUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
ARMY DUMPS TAIPANS
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
DEFENCE Minister Peter Dutton announced in December that the government is nego- tiating to buy up to 40 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk battlefield mobility helicopters to replace the Army’s troubled fleet of NH Industries MRH 90 Taipan helicopters.
Dutton said that the government is “for- mally requesting advice” from the US Gov- ernment on the acquisition and noted the MRH 90 fleet has not met contracted avail- ability requirements or cost of ownership.
The MRH 90 is today operated by both the Army and the RAN but, as ADM re- ported in October, Defence confirmed that additional MH-60Rs are being con- sidered under Project Sea 9100 Phase 1 (Embarked Logistics Support Helicopter Capability) to replace the maritime fleet.
If the deal goes ahead, the helicopters will be delivered in a similar configuration to the RAN’s current fleet of 24 MH-60Rs - albeit fitted for, but without, the primary anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sensor, the Raytheon AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequen- cy Sonar (ALFS) system.
This led to speculation that the addi- tional helicopters, while still being able to be reconfigured for the ASW role if re- quired, were primarily being acquired to replace the Navy’s current MRH 90 Tai- pans in the shipboard logistics role.
“The performance of the MRH 90 Taipan has been an ongoing and well-documented concern for Defence and there have been a significant effort at great expense to try to remediate those issues,” Dutton said.
RIGHT: Defence
Minister Peter Dutton announcing negotiations to buy up to 40 Sikorsky UH- 60M Black Hawk battlefi ld mobility helicopters.
“It is critically important there is a safe, reliable and capable utility helicopter available for our service men and women into the future, with reasonable and pre- dictable operating costs.”
The Taipan is operated in the battlefield mobility role by Army’s 5th Aviation Regi- ment (5 AVN) at Townsville and in the Special Operations support helicopter role by 6 AVN at Holsworthy. Defence was also due to make a decision on a light, deploy- able special forces support helicopter, but the effect of this latest announcement on that program remains unclear at the pres- ent time.
ADM understands the light helicopter project (Land 2097 Phase 4) may now be pushed to the right, or perhaps shelved altogether, as a result of the Black Hawk announcement.
The Taipan was introduced from 2007 to replace Army’s S-70A-9 Black Hawks.
Minister Dutton made no mention of timing or projected cost for the new Black Hawk deal, but said gov- ernment will consider options once it has all the information requested from Washington.
“The Australian Government is exercis- ing its right to understand what options are available to provide the necessary ca- pability at a reasonable cost into the fu- ture,” Dutton said.
US law requires notification of con- gressional approval for major arms deals through the Defense Security Co-opera- tion Agency (DSCA), but no notification of the potential sale of Black Hawks to Australia has been made to date.
NASAMS
ACHIEVES NEW
PRODUCTION
MILESTONE
KONGSBERG has announced a critical production milestone for Project Land 19 Phase 7B, with the first Mk.2 Canis- ter Launchers for the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) successfully passing Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT), forming the first shipment of Canister Launchers to Australia.
Land 19 Phase 7B is being delivered by prime contractor, Raytheon Australia, with the support of Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace and Kongsberg Defence Australia, and will deliver a new Short- Range Ground-Based Air Defence capa- bility for the Australian Army.
The system will enable the Army to quickly detect, engage, and destroy air- craft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missile threats. The Mk.2 Canis- ter Launcher represents the latest build standard, and includes a new common ground launch rail to enable employment of multiple missile types.
Taking place in Norway, Kongsberg De- fence and Aerospace conducted the First of Type FAT on the first Mk.2 Canister Launcher, before completing FAT on the second launcher. Representatives from Ray- theon Australia were present.
“Successful testing of the first Mk.2 Canister Launchers is a significant mile- stone,” Kongsberg Vice President Air De- fence Programs, Leif Roar Olsen, said.
ABOVE: The first Mk.2 Canister Launchers for NASAMS have passed Factory Acceptance Tests.
DEFENCE
KONGSBERG