A Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter takes protective action that could deflect missiles, above the Port Wakefield proving ground in South Australia.
Picture: ADF
Posted on 05/28/2017 4:58:03 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
In normal circumstances, Australia’s 22 Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters (ARHs) would be expected to remain in service until around 2040 — but the chances of them being retired in less than a decade are increasing.
This is not because of major problems with the airframes — they have plenty of life left in them — but rather because the Defence Department in general and the army in particular are tired of a series of issues that have affected reliability and cost of ownership.
Indeed the feeling about the helicopters has become so negative that Defence might not even go ahead with a planned midlife upgrade.
The latest bout of pessimism about the suitability of the helicopters can be traced back to a report last September of the Australian National Audit Office, which was critical of many aspects of the acquisition and amplified longstanding concerns about availability shortfalls.
However, much of the negative data used by the Audit Office was supplied by Defence, leading to suggestions that some people in the army have decided that they want a different brand of helicopter and they are preparing the groundwork and softening up the politicians and the public for its premature axing.
Of the many criticisms of Tigers is the cost per flying hour — an issue displayed prominently at the start of the report.
Midway through last year this was calculated as $30,335 per hour, compared to a target of $20,000 with a mind boggling long-term average of $39,472 per hour.
It is claimed within Defence that a rival Apache helicopter has a flight hour cost of slightly more than $16,000, or about half of what Tigers are currently achieving.
But here the plot thickens, because flight-hour costs are notoriously difficult to compare
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
A Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter takes protective action that could deflect missiles, above the Port Wakefield proving ground in South Australia.
Picture: ADF
Apache's highest maintenance area is its avionics, so the engines, drivetrain and airframe must be cake. Esp. if Tigers are approaching 40K/hour - yikes!
Xenia Sergeyevna Onatopp liked to fly this model.
When you are comparing unfavorably to the Apache in operating costs, you’ve got some serious problems.
Yummie in a Scandinavian sort of way.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.