This week's dramatic crash landing of an Army Taipan helicopter is prompting renewed focus and debate on Australia's troubled history with its European designed MRH-90 fleet, which will soon be replaced by American made UH-60 Black Hawks.
The Defence Flight Safety Bureau has begun a formal investigation into why the multi-role helicopter was forced to ditch into the sea at Jervis Bay while taking part in counterterrorism exercises on Wednesday night.
Ten ADF personnel, including special forces soldiers, were on board the MRH-90 when it hit the water, but the Taipan aircrew has been praised for its handling of the emergency which resulted in no serious injuries, but an immediate grounding of the fleet.
On Friday a crane was used to lift the stranded helicopter onto the Australian Defence Vessel reliant before being taken away for examination as part of the formal safety investigation.
Eyewitnesses to Wednesday night's incident have described seeing sparks at the top of the rotor blades and an explosion before the Airbus-manufactured helicopter came down inside Jervis Bay just after 9pm.
A damaged rotor blade visible while the helicopter was stranded on the beach is expected to be a focus for investigators and engineers although defence says it "cannot comment" because of the "ongoing investigation".
Before Wednesday night's emergency, the Taipan fleet had been grounded several times over safety concerns and in 2019 the ABC revealed the MRH-90 remained on Defence's Project of Concerns list.
Australia's fleet of 47 Taipans were first acquired by the Howard government from 2006 but have suffered from poor availability since entering service, and two years ago the army was forced to lease interim helicopters for training and non-combat transport roles.
In 2021 the Morrison government announced it would retire the entire fleet of MRH-90s a decade earlier than scheduled, replacing them with up to 40 new Black Hawks and 12 Seahawks, a move confirmed by the Albanese government in January.
Last year Chief of Army General Simon Stuart told a Senate Estimates committee that the cost of operating the Taipan fleet was $48,000 for every flying hour.
Defence insiders have acknowledged the more expensive Taipan helicopter has numerous features which make it superior to the Black Hawk but claim Australia has failed to properly maintain and manage the complex MRH-90 fleet effectively.
"A UH-60 Blackhawk is less expensive, but it lacks a rear ramp, fly-by-wire controls and a decent night vision system," one industry figure told the ABC.
"It's like replacing a modern SUV with a Holden Ute — that's not a criticism – but Army have said 'yes' to the Ute because that's all that they want."
Critics claim ADF is too US-focused
Supporters of the MRH-90 also point out that unlike the Sikorsky-manufactured Black Hawk, the Taipan helicopter comes equipped with flotation devices which almost certainly helped prevent any loss of life during this week's sea crash.
However, critics of the Taipan note even European militaries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden are beginning to phase out their MRH-90 fleets in favour of American helicopters.
In a February interview with the ABC at the Avalon Air Show, General Stuart defended the decision to retire the Taipan fleet a decade earlier than anticipated.
"There was a huge effort on behalf of our industry partners and certainly Army aviators to make that system work, (but) it just didn't deliver on the capability that we need and certainly the cost of ownership was unaffordable," the army chief argued.
"So, the logic was very compelling and we're on a great path for the future to deliver the operational capability and a very good cost of ownership and good use of taxpayer's money and it really sets us up for the future."
While critics have claimed the ADF is becoming too US-focused with military acquisitions, General Stuart said it makes sense for the army to deal with its long-standing ally.
"The US is our key partner, we have an alliance relationship and our interoperability, particularly with our teammates; in Army's case in US Army Pacific, US Marine Forces in the Pacific and our teammates in INDOPACOM, is really important," he said.
