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Indo-Pacific 2022: Australia seals MH-60R and AH-64E deals

11th May 2022 - 10:15 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Sydney

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The Royal Australian Navy will receive a dozen extra MH-60R naval helicopters, to boost the current fleet by 50%. (Photo: Gordon Arthur)

Replacing European-designed helicopters, Australia has turned back to the US for attack and naval rotorcraft.

On the eve of the Indo-Pacific 2022 naval exhibition in Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed that the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) would receive 13 new Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters and the Australian Army a fleet of 29 Boeing AH-64E Apaches.

The Romeo deal is worth some A$2.5 billion ($1.75 billion), plus an additional A$360 million will be spent on upgrading HMAS Albatross in Nowra, where existing MH-60Rs are based with 725 and 816 Squadrons.

To replace one helicopter lost in a crash in the Philippine Sea in October last year, the order was bumped up from the originally

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