CANBERRA, Australia AP -- Australia's military said Friday it plans to ditch its fleet of European-designed Taipan helicopters and instead buy U.S. Black Hawks and Seahawks because American machines are more reliable.
It came less than three months after Australia canceled a deal to buy French submarines in favor of building nuclear-powered submarines that use U.S. and British technology in a switch that deeply angered France.
Australia has 47 Taipan helicopters that were designed by Airbus and were supposed to last until 2037 but have been plagued with groundings. Australia will stop using them and buy 40 Lockheed Martin-designed helicopters in a switch that will cost 7 billion Australian dollars $4.8 billion. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was improving its defense capabilities and had built good partnerships with the U.S.
The Taipans weren't meeting their marks. Morrison said it was as simple as that. We want to make sure that our defense forces have the best possible equipment to defend this country, and the Black Hawks will provide that. Defense Minister Peter Dutton said that the Black Hawks are much cheaper to fly and that officials have had concerns about the Taipan program for the past decade.
It's had nine times when it's been unsuitable to fly, and I'm not going to put our people in that position, Dutton said.
He said that the new helicopters would bring Australia's fleet more in line with that of the U.S., an important consideration given the instability in the region.
China expressed anger over Australia's submarine switch and said that it was irresponsible for the U.S. and Britain to export nuclear technology.
The Australian government has wasted billions of dollars on poor decisions around many of its defence contracts, according to opposition politicians.