Australia to spend $A2 bn on defence choppers

Canberra, June 19: Australia will buy an additional 34 troop transport helicopters from Australian Aerospace for A2 billion dollars (1.5 billion dollars), Prime Minister John Howard said today, under a plan to rationalise the helicopter fleet.

Australia had already committed to buying 12 of the MRH-90 helicopters from Australian Aerospace -- a subsidiary of Eurocopter, which is a unit of aerospace firm EADS -- but will increase the order to 46.

The Eurocopter was chosen over the US-built Sikorsky Black Hawks, currently used by the Australian army. The MRH-90 is larger and can carry more troops than the Black Hawk, and was also regarded as more suitable to operate from ships.

Nelson said the new helicopters would replace the army's Black Hawks and the navy's Sea King helicopters as part of a A50 billion dollars plan to replace and upgrade defence equipment over the next 10 years.

''MRH-90 is an extremely capable helicopter featuring a modern damage tolerant design, a large cabin volume with ramp,'' Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said in a statement.

Nelson said the new contract would reduce the number of different helicopters used by the armed forces from 10 to seven.

The initial 12 troop transport helicopters are due to be delivered to the Australian military in 2007.

The Sea Kings will be replaced in 2010, while the Black Hawks will be progressively replaced between 2011 and 2015.

Analyst Neil James, from the Australian Defence Association, said the deal would upgrade the helicopter fleet and allow the eventual retirement of the ageing Iroquois helicopters, which date back to the Vietnam war years.

''We have confidence they have made the right decision and they are buying the right helicopter,'' James told Sky television, adding the Eurocopters would allow defence planners to save money by setting up joint maintenance facilities across the services.

Reuters