Air 9000 Program - First Australian Multi-role Helicopters (MRH002 & 3) Arrive In Australia
The Defence Materiel Organisation's (DMO) AIR 9000 Program has achieved another significant Program milestone with the
arrival of the first two Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) in Australia. The helicopters arrived at the Australian Aerospace
facility in Brisbane inside a leased Antonov aircraft last night.
The arrival of the aircraft was celebrated by a small ceremony at the Australian Aerospace facility involving Industry,
DMO and Defence representatives.
The MRH90 aircraft will be returned to flying condition after the transit, and test flown by Australian Aerospace flight
test crews in preparation for delivery to the Commonwealth.
The AIR 9000 MRH Program will provide the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with an additional squadron of troop lift
helicopters and replace existing Black Hawk and Sea King helicopter fleets, for land and maritime operations,
respectively. AIR 9000 is a multi-phased program to consolidate and reduce the number of helicopter fleets operated by
the ADF.
The first four MRH90 aircraft were assembled at the Eurocopter facility in Marignane, France. The remaining 42
helicopters are being assembled in Brisbane by Australian Aerospace.
ENDS