Defence stops payment on Tigers.

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Dept of Defence Media release.


CPA 196/07 Thursday, 5 July 2007

DEFENCE STOPS PAYMENT ON ARMED RECONNAISSANCE HELICOPTER ACQUISITION CONTRACT

The Defence Materiel Organisation has exercised its rights under the Air 87 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) acquisition contract and stopped payment to Australian Aerospace on 1 June 2007 as the contracted milestone for ARH Initial Operational Capability has not been achieved.

Initial Operational Capbility for the Tiger ARH Project is defined as the ability to conduct collective training. Delays in the Franco/German Tiger program have negatively impacted the development of the simulators and establishment of the Australian based training needed to achieve this milestone.

Defence and Australian Aerospace are working cooperatively to limit the effects of the delay. Seven of the 22 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters have been accepted and these aircraft have now flown over 1500 hours in training and testing which will contribute to this outcome. Defence is confident that the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Project will deliver the contracted capability.

The Tiger Through-Life Support contract is unaffected and flying operations are continuing. Although payment has ceased Australian Aerospace will continue delivery of aircraft and support systems.

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Well at least it's not problems with the helicopter as such, just the Tiger's French manufacturers can't seem to get their act together on the simulator side of things.

From The Australian.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,22031326-31477,00.html


Payments stopped on $2bn Tiger contract
Mark Dodd
July 07, 2007.

PAYMENT has been stopped on the army's $2 billion Tiger helicopter contract because of pilot training delays - the latest glitch in a troubled project that is now two years behind schedule.

The Defence Materiel Organisation, which is overseeing the contract with Australian Aerospace, stopped payment after delays in the development of flight simulators led to a shortage in the number of trained pilots, a senior DMO official told The Weekend Australian.

The troubled Tiger program is the latest in a litany of billion-dollar defence acquisitions plagued by problems.

One of the most recent scandals involves the Navy's $1 billion Super Seasprite contract, first ordered in 1997. None of the 11 refurbished helicopters is operational in a contract that is now five years overdue.

Seven of the 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters on order have been accepted and the aircraft have successfully flown more than 1500 hours.

But problems in France at Australian Aerospace's parent company are being blamed for causing delays in the development of flight simulators for training in Australia, a key part of the contract.

A senior Australian Aerospace official, Bill Wilson, confirmed payments were stopped on June 1 because the company had failed to meet training deadlines.

"They've (helicopters) been delayed beyond the IOC (Initial Operational Capability) date, which they were contracted to be delivered," Mr Wilson said.

"If you were privy to the contract, there are many elements of IOC of which training is one. We've met others but we haven't met training."

To date, only nine Tiger pilots have qualified as instructors, resulting in a shortage of trained Tiger aircrew, said Major General Tony Fraser, head of DMO's helicopter systems division.

"The program is two years behind at the moment but Australian Aerospace is working with us to find a way to increase the skill level of the pilots before they start Tiger training," Major General Fraser told The Weekend Australian.

The army plans to train about 50 aircrew on the Tiger, a six-tonne, mostly carbon-fibre, two-seat helicopter armed with a 30mm gun and 70mm rockets.

Despite problems with pilot training, Defence is pleased with the quality of the Tiger aircraft and an earlier engine problem had been rectified.

Labor's defence spokesman, Joel Fitzgibbon, said the latest delays were a legacy of a government unable to deliver on defence capability.

"This is just the latest in a long list of defence procurement stuff-ups which have cost the taxpayer dearly, and left large capability gaps," he said.