Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles says that the country’s fleet of Taipan military helicopters will be permanently grounded following a crash in July that killed four service members. He made the statement while speaking with Australian TV news on Friday.
The fleet consists of more than 40 MRH-90 Taipan helicopters made by European company NHIndustries. The Taipan fleet has faced maintenance problems for years, and other countries such as Norway have also returned helicopters made by the company, according to Reuters. Before the July crash, another incident in March saw a Taipan fall into Jervis Bay, though all 10 passengers and crew were rescued safely.
Australia announced in January that it would buy 40 U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopters to replace the Taipan fleet, which was scheduled to retire in December 2024. Marles says the early retirement is due in part to the fact that one of the four investigations into the July crash is expected to take more than a year to complete. Marles adds that they are considering working together with allies such as the U.S. to speed up both the delivery of the Black Hawks as well as training for crews.