BY: GREG WALDRON
The Australia National Audit Office (ANAO) has issued a report that is highly critical of the army’s fleet of 22 Airbus Helicopters Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH).
The 64-page report details a range of issues. It identifies 76 “capability deficiencies,” of which the Department of Defence (DoD) deems 60 to be “critical.”
“The Tiger helicopter fleet has not yet delivered the original capability expected by the Australian Government, and continues to experience higher than expected sustainment costs and lower than expected aircraft availability,” says the ANAO.
On the original acquisition of the type, it contends that the Tiger was still an immature platform when it was selected in December 2001, which exposed Canberra to programme risk.
On average, only 3.5 aircraft in the operational fleet of 16 helicopters were available on “any given day in 2015,” says ANAO. This is below targeted readiness of 12 aircraft.
It points out substantial delays in the Tiger’s meeting key milestones. For example, Initial Operational Release was 40 months late, and a highly-conditional Final Operational Capability arrived 82 months after originally planned.
One capability that still hasn’t arrived is the ability to operate from warships.
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