Australia to ditch Euro military helicopters for US ones

Australia's military said on Friday it plans to ditch its fleet of European-designed Taipan helicopters and instead buy U.S. Black Hawks and Seahawks because the American machines were more reliable.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was improving its defense capabilities and had built good partnerships, particularly with the U.S.

Australia has 47 Taipan helicopters that were designed by Airbus and were supposed to last until 2037 but have been plagued with groundings.  Australia will stop using them and buy 40 Lockheed Martin-designed helicopters in a switch that will cost 4.8 billion USD.