The first two Australian Defence Force MRH-90 Multi Role helicopters (MRH) last month were accepted into service, Hon. Greg Combet MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, said.
Acquired under Project AIR 9000, a total of 46 MRH 90s will ultimately replace the Navy’s Sea King and Army’s Black Hawk fleets in the coming years.
“The MRH 90 will provide our sailors and soldiers with a new troop lift helicopter designed to meet the demands of modern combat operations over land and from ships at sea,” Combet said at the ceremonies. “The fleet will also provide valuable additional air mobile support for the wider Australian Defence Force.”
Australian Aerospace will assemble and test 42 of the MRH 90 helicopters. Australian Aerospace, the only helicopter producer in Australia and New Zealand, is a subsidiary of Eurocopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS).
Project AIR 9000 will create over 150 new jobs, and the project assures the continuation of over 250 more jobs that were coming to an end with the completion of other defence projects.
The MRH 90 is the first true fly-by-wire helicopter in the world, a defence statement said. The helicopter is equipped with a Forward Looking Infrared system for flight in low light and has the same pilot Helmet Mounted Sight and Display as used in the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter. It has a larger cabin than the current troop lift aircraft and can lift greater loads and carry more troops than the helicopters it is replacing.
A period of test and evaluation, training and aircraft development will now be conducted leading to Initial Operational Capability for the Navy in 2010 and the Army in 2011.