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About 400 Australian aerospace support workers are facing redundancy after a fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters has been retired early, the head of the European manufacturer says.
- The Taipan manufacturer says retiring the aircraft early will immediately impact aerospace support workers
- The Australian Defence says it's working with industry partners to support them through this transition
- Defence Minister Richard Marles says the first of the replacement Black Hawks have arrived
Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed on Friday these military helicopters will not return to flying operations before their planned withdrawal date of December 2024.
The decision comes after one of the Taipans crashed during a military training exercise in Queensland's Whitsundays, killing four defence personnel.
NHIndustries (NHI) President, Axel Aloccio, said support networks would no longer be needed as a result of the fleet's withdrawal.
"The immediate concern is to support the 400 or so workers in Australian aerospace who will be impacted by this decision because we were organising ourselves to support the Australian fleet until the end of next year," he said.
"With this decision to anticipate the withdrawal of the NH90 by one year, this is going to impact immediately those 400 workers who will be made redundant as a result."
An Australian defence ministry spokesperson said: "The MRH-90 Taipan workforce is highly skilled and defence is working with industry partners to ensure they are supported through the capability transitional period."
LoadingMeanwhile, Mr Aloccio rebuffed concerns that the decision to stop flying the helicopters was linked to a safety issue following the crash in the Whitsundays.
"At this stage of the investigation no particular technical issue has been identified and we do not believe that the safety of the NH90 is at stake," he said.
Australia's decision to stop flying Taipans early is the latest setback for the European NH90 programme after Norway and Sweden announced plans to cancel purchases.
The Australia-led investigation into July's Taipan crash is set to last well into 2024.
"Today's announcement does not presuppose or any way suggest the outcome of the investigations into the tragic incident," Mr Marles said on Friday.
"The MRH-90 has been an important capability for our country and Defence Force, and I recognise the hard work of the hundreds of people who dedicated themselves to acquiring, operating and sustaining the aircraft.
"Given we were due to retire the aircraft at the end of next year anyway, there is now no world in which we would be flying the Taipans again."
The Taipan fleet was grounded multiple times over malfunctions in the past, including after an incident in March this year when 10 ADF personnel were forced to ditch into water at Jervis Bay, New South Wales.
Mr Marles said on Friday that the first of the 40 Black Hawks that would replace the Taipans had arrived.
Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News on Friday that the coalition supported the acquisition and transition to the Black Hawks.
ABC/wires