Defence to spend $2b more on choppers Mark Metherell June 19, 2006 AUSTRALIA will buy almost four times as many military helicopters as previously ordered, at an extra cost of $2 billion. The Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, is expected to announce today that the Australian Defence Force will add 34 of the European MRH-90 multi-role helicopters to the 12 on order. The decision follows protracted problems with helicopters in the Defence Force, highlighted by the Sea King crash in Indonesia last year in which nine Australian military personnel were killed. The crash prompted the disclosure of poor maintenance standards for...