Airbus Australia Pacific managing director Andrew Mathewson says the company is committed to ensuring the success of the Australian Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) Tiger helicopter after securing a through-life-support contract extension.
Outgoing Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne and Minister for Defence Industry Senator Linda Reynolds first announced the five-year contract extension to 2025 valued at up to $790 million on April 6.
Mathewson, who prior to becoming Airbus Australia Pacific managing director in early January was head of helicopter systems division at Defence’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG), said there would be a cycle of continuous improvement as Airbus continued to learn from the operational experience gained by Tiger helicopters in other countries.
“Airbus is committed to ensuring the success of the Australian ARH Tiger fleet,” Mathewson said in a statement on April 17.
“We have worked closely with the Australian Army and our industry partners to improve the fleet’s performance over many years.”
The Army has 22 ARH Tigers operating out of Darwin and Oakey with the 1st Aviation Regiment.
The first two helicopters, A38-001 and -002, were delivered in December 2004. The 22nd and final Tiger, A38-022, arrived in late 2011.
VIDEO: A look at the work of the 1st Aviation Regiment from the Australian Army’s YouTube channel.
Final operating capability (FOC) for the two-seat helicopters was achieved in April 2016, albeit with some operational caveats, some 11 years after the type first entered service.
The fleet was also the subject of a critical audit published in September 2016, which highlighted the program’s lower than expected serviceability rates and growing obsolescence issues.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report also questioned whether upgrading the Tiger fleet provided value for money when the aircraft was slated for replacement in the middle of the next decade.
Airbus Australia Pacific said the contract extension would cover more extensive aircraft and component deeper maintenance, operational maintenance of aircraft allocated to training, aircrew and technician training, design services, systems and software development and testing, complete parts support including MRO, purchasing, storage and distribution, and technical publications, maintenance policy and fleet management.
“I’m proud that more than 200 full time positions will remain in Australia to carry out this very important work supporting the Army Aviation Australia-wide, including the creation of apprenticeships in Darwin,” Mathewson said.
“Moreover, our Airbus engineering capabilities continue to expand thanks to this contract, with key software and modifications being developed on Australian soil.”
Tigers at sunrise in Malaysia. #YourADF staff in #Malaysia have been supporting the first overseas deployment of Australia’s Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters. Here they are in the early morning light at RMAF Subang. #Army @AustralianArmy @AusAirForce @airforcenextgen ???? pic.twitter.com/gqcFW2S2j3
— ADFinMalaysia (@ADFinMalaysia) April 22, 2019
After arriving into @airforcenextgen Subang by @AusAirForce C-17 this weekend, 4 Australian Army, Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters embarked in HMAS Canberra today. Joint and combined cooperation with our Malaysian partners at its best. @Australian_Navy #aviation #army #tudm ???? pic.twitter.com/TN4kX2aLyA
— ADFinMalaysia (@ADFinMalaysia) April 22, 2019
