The Australian military will phase-out its European-made helicopter fleet and purchase 40 Black Hawk and Seahawk military helicopters, made by Lockheed-Martin, the Associated Press reports. The new aircraft will replace 47 European-designed Taipan helicopters currently used by Australian armed forces.
The announcement comes three months after a deal between the United States and Australia, as well as the UK, to provide Australia with nuclear submarines, pushing out an earlier understanding that Australia would buy French-made diesel subs. The reason Australia is getting American helicopters: they’re designed and built better than the Taipans
“The Taipans weren’t meeting their marks. Simple as that,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. “And 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.”