According to Australia's defense minister, the army will no longer fly Taipan helicopters made in Europe

Following an accident in July that claimed the lives of four troops, the Australian army will never again operate its fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, the minister of defense announced on Friday.

Since July 28, when one of Australia's more than forty European-designed Taipans crashed into the Pacific Ocean while being used for nighttime training in the Whitsunday Islands off the country's northeast coast, the fleet has been grounded.

The "only decision that makes sense," according to Defense Minister Richard Marles, is to permanently cease flying activities over Taipan, he told Nine Network television.

This choice that we're making today. In many respects, it was inevitable, but it's a critical step to take in order to launch our Black Hawks as soon as feasible, Marles stated, alluding to the American-made helicopters that will take the place of Australia's fleet of Airbus-manufactured aircraft.

In January, the administration declared that 40 UH-60M Black Hawks would take the place of the Taipans. December 2024 would have been 13 years earlier than Australia had originally scheduled for the Taipans to retire.

Beginning in 2025, the Australian army will also pilot brand-new Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters.