Axing Australia's Taipan helicopters to cost 400 jobs, manufacturer says (updated)

AIC Mines

29/09/2023 21:37

(Adds quotes from helicopter executive, background from
paragraph 4)
    By Tim Hepher
       PARIS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Some 400 Australian aerospace
support workers face redundancy after the government brought
forward the retirement of a fleet of MRH90 Taipan military
helicopters, the head of the European manufacturer told Reuters.
    NHIndustries (NHI) President Axel Aloccio also rebuffed any
concerns that the decision to stop flying was linked to a safety
issue following a fatal crash in July, saying engineers had
found no malfunction so far in an Australia-led investigation.
    Australia's defence ministry was not immediately available
for comment out of hours.
    Australia grounded its Taipan fleet after the offshore crash
killed four aircrew and said the helicopters would not fly again
until findings from a detailed investigation were published.
    On Friday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the fleet
would not now return to operation before the previously planned
withdrawal date of December 2024, with investigations 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," he
said in a statement.
    Aloccio, who also manages the NH90 programme at NHI's main
shareholder Airbus  AIR.PA , struck a more definitive note.
    "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, adding the official probe was
still in progress.
    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," Aloccio 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," he said in a
telephone interview.
    Australia in January said it would buy 40 Black Hawk
military helicopters, manufactured by Lockheed Martin  LMT.N ,
for an estimated A$2.8 billion ($1.80 billion). 
    The Black Hawks are set to replace the Australian army's 
Taipan, which have been plagued for years by maintenance issues.
    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.    

 (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel
Wallis)
 ((tim.hepher@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 54 52; Reuters
Messaging: tim.hepher.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))