Critics Denounce Australia’s Decision Not to Provide Helicopters to Ukraine as ‘Scandalous’
The ill-fated Taipans will be buried instead.
Australia has formally rejected a request from Ukraine to use its fleet of Taipan MRH-90 helicopters, saying they’re being dismantled, but defence commentators say the aircraft should still be flying and have characterized the refusal as “scandalous.”
After one of the aircraft crashed on a training exercise in Queensland last year, killing four defence personnel, all 45 were grounded. They are now being dismantled for eventual burial, the government says.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the Defence Department worked with Airbus and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to find a potential buyer for the airframes, but there was “zero interest,” so it was decided to strip them and try to sell spare parts.
People ‘Dying Unnecessarily’
Despite their troubled history, Ukraine requested the helicopters for medevac use shortly before Christmas, pleading with Australia to “help save Ukrainian lives,” prevent people from “dying unnecessarily,” and “dramatically increase the survivability of our frontline defenders.”
However, Mr. Conroy said that it would be “irresponsible for us to move away from the disposal strategy that we’ve locked in.”
Ukraine’s request “came in three months after the disposal strategy began, three months after these aircraft were grounded, three months after maintenance ceased on these aircraft,” he said.
‘National embarrassment’: Former Major-General
And in a post on social media site X (formerly Twitter), retired Army Major General Mick Ryan—now a consultant military strategist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and the Lowy Institute—called it a “scandalous” decision.
The Taipan’s Mr. Bergmann said they were “remarkably safe, with many more safety features than the Black Hawks that will replace them.”
Former head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings—who is also a former deputy secretary at the Department of Defence—also entered the debate, calling the decision “one of the most puzzling” he has seen a government make and saying it was the “worst possible outcome.” He speculated that it was simply the “cheapest thing to do” to disassemble and bury the helicopters.
Australian Ukrainians Protest
The Ukrainian community in Australia is pressuring the government to change its mind, holding protests in Sydney last weekend.
2023 was not the first time the MRH-90s had been grounded by Australia. Eleven were taken out of service soon after they were deployed, in 2010, when one suffered an engine failure near Adelaide.
In June 2019, the ABC obtained a sensitive “projects of concern” report, listing the helicopters among the worst-performing military acquisitions. The report said the fleet is limited on certain missions because it cannot shut down the main engines.
The following year, defence officials confirmed to a Senate hearing that the helicopter’s door was too narrow to allow its gun to fire while troops were descending.
In December of that year, then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the entire fleet would be replaced—a decade ahead of schedule—with new Black Hawks and Seahawks imported from the United States.
The MRH-90s—ordered by former Prime Minister John Howard and former Defence Minister Brendan Nelson—cost $3.7 billion; their replacements will cost around $2.8 billion.
