>Canberra is assessing whether to send its fleet of 22 aging Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters to Ukraine as Kyiv seeks more tools to counter Russian drones and bolster frontline aviation, according to local Australian media.>The review follows a formal request from Ukraine and renewed pressure from Australia’s Ukrainian community, which was angered last year when the Australian Defence Force dismantled and buried its grounded MRH-90 Taipan helicopters instead of donating them.>Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy confirmed that officials had approached Kyiv about the Tigers, saying gifting them is “our top consideration,” The Sydney Herald reported.>Canberra’s Tigers, inducted in 2004 and slated for withdrawal by 2028, have struggled with high sustainment costs, software and parts shortages, and a history of availability problems.>Despite the fleet’s condition, sources said the helicopters could strengthen Ukraine’s expanding airspace defense requirements, particularly in anti-drone operations.>The Tiger can field a 30-millimeter cannon, 70-millimeter rockets, and Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, all of which are already in Ukraine’s arsenal and are valued for rapid response at low altitude against Russia’s unpredictable Shahed kamikaze drones.>Australia is now transitioning to 29 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, the first of which arrived in October, and officials have indicated the Tiger retirement schedule could be accelerated if a transfer to Ukraine is approved.
>>64633495Why the fuck is our attack chopper fleet so small?
>>64633510Australia isn't a land power, it's ok for an expeditionary corps
>>64633495So, the F-18 debacle, second time around. Find useless, broken junk and dump it in Ukraine so they can eat the expense and take care of the toxic cleanup.Australians are cunts. And, not the good kind of cunts. Clean up your own fucking mess, you cunts.
>>64633556>Australians are cuntsWhile I agree that the Tigers are a bad idea the Australian’s have sent a lot of good stuff like the Bushmasters and those cardboard drones, and from what I’ve seen the Bushmaster has gotten a lot of praise from the Ukrainian’s using them
>>64633510Our entire military is small
>>64633495Virtually sabotage
>>64633706I mean, why not use them as drone hunters?Put some APKWS pods on them too
Not the worst idea. Sure the Germans/Eyetalians/Spanish can provide parts to keep in the air.
>>64633495>The review follows a formal request from Ukraine and renewed pressure from Australia’s Ukrainian community, which was angered last year when the Australian Defence Force dismantled and buried its grounded MRH-90 Taipan helicopters instead of donating them.Any sovereign country that allows foreign communities to dictate what its defense policy should be, is no country at all
>>64633826The Tiger was not good, more a case the transfer is being assessed on the basis that they might be more harm than anything usefulSuch is the tale of Australian flying acquisitions, we only pick the right thing after buying all the shit ones first
>>64633900The NH 90 saga was impressive. Replace the BlackHawks with a new chopper only to replace it in turn with more Black/SeaHawks.
>>64633916Yeah, you sort of expect some oopsies with helo's just by their very nature and people make mistakes, sometimes they die. But in the case of the Tiger and NH-90 there's some major problems with either the engines being not good or not maintained well enough, or basically having to be sent back to Europe so someone over there could fix them. People have crashed Blackhawk's but it usually isn't a mechanical problem
