MRH 90 'Cobra 08' prepares to take off during the First of Class Flight Trials onboard HMAS Manoora in November 2009. The month long testing regime gauged the MRH-90’s capabilities at sea through takeoffs, landings, munitions transfers and weight load carries. The Royal Australian Navy was scheduled to field Forty six MRH90 by mid 2010. However, by April 2011
The Australian Defence Department completed a two-month diagnostic review of the MRH-90 Multi Role Helicopter Program, addressing delays to the project. The review has recommended that at present the project should not be listed under the ‘Project of Concern’ list, but recommended the ministry to work with the contractor, Australian Aerospace, to improve the availability of the helicopters by addressing engineering and reliability issues. Progress on the project will be evaluated by a follow-on diagnostic review. The Australian MRH-90 project experienced a series of reliability issues, including engine failure, transmission oil cooler fan failures and the poor availability of spares.
An MRH 90 lands on the aft flight deck of HMAS MANOORA in lead up to the MRH 90 acceptance trials. Photo: Australian Navy
To date, 13 MRH-90 helicopters have been accepted by Defence and are currently being used for testing and initial crew training. The project has suffered delays of 12 months for the Navy’s helicopters and 18 months for the Army’s helicopters.
MRH 90 'Cobra 08' prepares to take off during the First of Class Flight Trials onboard HMAS Manoora in November 2009. The month long testing regime gauged the MRH-90’s capabilities at sea through takeoffs, landings, munitions transfers and weight load carries. The Royal Australian Navy was scheduled to field Forty six MRH90 by mid 2010. However, by April 2011 the initial 13 aircraft delivered are still undergoing testing. Photo: LAC Christopher Dickson, Royal Australian Navy.
As traditional defense primes face mounting competition from agile “neoprimes” such as Anduril, Palantir and Helsing, the balance of innovation is shifting toward software-defined warfare and scalable, dual-use technologies, while global industry consolidation—marked by Boeing’s integration of Spirit AeroSystems and other strategic mergers—signals an intensified race to secure control over the defense technology value chain. Our Defense-Tech weekly report highlights these trends.
At the 2025 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, U.S. Air Force and Space Force leaders unveiled major updates on next-generation fighters, bombers, unmanned systems, and space initiatives, highlighting both rapid innovation and critical readiness challenges as the services race to outpace global competitors. A short version is available here, with a more detailed version for subscribers.
The Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) 2025 crystallized around four dominant strategic themes that collectively illustrate Taiwan's comprehensive approach to defense modernization amid escalating regional tensions. Based on a detailed report by Pleronix (available upon request). Includes a Podcast discussion on TADTE 2025's highlighting Taiwan's four strategic themes beyond the post's coverage.
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