Ringing Bells

Bell Helicopter pitches its Vipers and Venoms as a Tiger ARH replacement

A surprising inclusion in February’s Defence White Paper and its accompanying Integrated Investment Program (IIP) were details of the planned early retirement and replacement of Army’s Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) from the mid-2020s resulting from its challenging and troubled introduction into service.

Perhaps equally surprising was the IIP’s revelation that: “In the longer-term, Defence will explore options for a long-range, aero-medical evacuation and combat search and rescue aircraft to provide enhanced support to ADF operations, including operating with the amphibious ships. ” And then there was the White Paper’s plan to acquire “deployable light helicopters”, which will see “a new fleet of light reconnaissance and attack helicopters … acquired from around 2025 to provide air mobility support optimised for special operations missions”.