A version of the Taipan helicopter which Australia’s Army permanently grounded after a deadly crash two years ago will be involved in the international military exercises where the devastating accident occurred.

Australia immediately retired its fleet of European-designed MRH-90 ‘Taipans’ following the July 2023 tragedy which killed Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph “Phillip” Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs.

A defence investigation into the crash reported in May, and found evasive action taken by the pilot avoided more lives being lost.

Australian personnel are likely to fly in three NH-90s operated by New Zealand’s Defence Force as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 that formally gets underway this weekend.

Since grounding its Taipan fleet, the Australian Defence Force has begun replacing the MRH-90 Taipans with new Black Hawks, but military sources claim the US-made helicopters can play only a limited role in this year’s Talisman Sabre exercises.

A defence spokesperson said both Black Hawks and Chinook helicopters will be in use by the army during Talisman Sabre.

“The Australian Army will deploy rotary-wing capabilities from the Battlefield Aviation Program, including the CH-47F Chinook and UH-60M Black Hawks to support movement of troops and equipment across the battlefield,” the defence spokesperson told the ABC.

“Partner nations, including New Zealand, Singapore and the United States, will also deploy rotary-wing lift assets.”

The ABC has confirmed the Armed Reconnaissance (ARH) Tiger helicopters from the Australian Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment will also provide armed reconnaissance support during the large-scale war drills.

Singapore’s Air Force will deploy two CH-47F Chinook helicopters for Talisman Sabre, while the United States Marine Corps will send its controversial MV-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor Aircraft, which was also involved in a fatal crash in the Northern Territory in 2023.

Since being introduced into service in 2007, Australia’s fleet of MRH-90s was beset by technical problems and groundingsin contrast to the New Zealand NH-90 fleet which enjoys high flight availability and has just completed its latest upgrades.

30,000 troops involved in defence exercise

An official ceremony will mark the start of Talisman Sabre in Sydney on Sunday, with this year’s exercises to be the largest in the event’s history.

Some 30,000 military personnel from 19 different countries will take part, including the United States, Canada, Fiji, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the Philippines.

The biannual war games are the Australian Defence Force’s largest exercise, and the largest bilateral exercises with the US.

In its 11th year, for the first time Papua New Guinea will also host a Talisman Sabre activity, in a sign of deepening defence ties between Australia and its close northern neighbour.

China has often sent surveillance vessels to monitor the military exercises off the coast of Queensland, including the two most recent iterations in 2023 and 2021.

The military exercises are beginning as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travels to China, which is not among those countries taking part.

The ADF has already said a Chinese vessel travelling close to Australia to monitor the exercises would not be “unusual or unexpected”.

Defence Industry Minister Patrick Conroy told the ABC’s Insiders it would be “unusual for them not to observe it” and Australia would “adjust accordingly”.

“My most up-to-date information is that they are not observing the exercise but the exercise hasn’t started yet, it starts today,” he said.

“We’ll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia but we’ll also adjust how we conduct those exercises.

“People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications and we’ll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.”