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Australia to spend $3bn on US Black Hawk helicopters to replace French-built helicopters after Scott Morrison was accused of lying to the French about a huge submarine contract
- Defense Minister Richard Marles confirmed new helicopters this week
- The 40 Black Hawks will replace a fleet of French-built MRH90 Taipans.
- In 2021, a canceled submarine contract led to a major diplomatic rift
The Australian government will buy Black Hawk helicopters from the United States for $3 billion to replace the current fleet of French-made helicopters.
The 40 new UH-60M Black Hawks to be delivered later this year will be based at Oakey, near Toowoomba in Queensland and at Holsworthy in Sydney.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said Labor had learned lessons from the previous coalition government and gave France full transparency around the announcement.
Australia will purchase 40 Black Hawk helicopters (pictured) from the United States to replace the French-made helicopters already in use.
The Labor government of Anthony Albanese (pictured) said it has been in close talks with France in an effort to prevent a repeat of the $90bn submarine contract fiasco.
The change could be another testing moment for Australia-France relations after the Morrison government reneged on a deal to buy French submarines in 2021 to go after the AUKUS security pact and nuclear-powered submarines.
French President Emmanuel Macron has claimed the cancellation of the $90 billion submarine contract caught him by surprise and accused Scott Morrison of lying to him.
Marles said his government has been in talks with Paris for weeks about replacing the Airbus MRH90 Taipans used by the Australian military.
Airbus is partially owned by the French government.
“It’s definitely not a surprise…they’ve appreciated the way we’ve made this decision,” he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
“We have worked closely with them on this.”
The defense minister said the Taipan helicopters had maintenance problems, requiring technology upgrade.
“We are confident that the Black Hawks are a platform that we are familiar with,” he said.
“We have a very good proven track record in terms of its reliability and working hours, so we believe it will be a platform that provides this capability in the way that we need for the Australian Army.”
An MRH90 Taipan helicopter (pictured) built by French government owned Airbus deployed to the Kimberley region of WA this month to help with flooding
Anthony Albanese is greeted by Emmanuel Macron along with his partners Jodie Haydon and Brigitte Macron after a trip to Paris in 2022 in an effort to repair diplomatic relations following the submarine contract fiasco.
The head of ground capability, Major General Jeremy King, said the Black Hawks were crucial in protecting Australian sovereignty.
“They will support the deployment of our troops and their equipment where they are needed…the Black Hawk is a reliable, proven and mature platform backed by a strong global supply chain,” he said.
“This acquisition will mean we can continue to defend Australia and respond in times of need safely and effectively for years to come.”
The Taipans have been on the Defense Department’s Projects of Concern list for about a decade after repeated maintenance problems and difficulty obtaining parts.
There is also an issue with the gate not being wide enough for soldiers to be knocked back under certain conditions.
The US government approved the sale of all 40 Lockheed-Martin-built Black Hawks in August.