Under this project, the government will acquire sufficient helicopters to provide at least eight helicopters concurrently embarked on ships at sea, which according to the White Paper requires a fleet of 24 helicopters.
As announced in February 2010, the new helicopter will be either the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin-built MH-60R sourced through the US Navy, or the NATO Helicopter Industries NH90 NFH sourced through Australian Aerospace.
The competition to select a new helicopter has commenced on schedule ahead of a final decision about the new helicopter in 2011.
The release of tender documents now is in line with the schedule determined by the government when it considered the project for First Pass Approval in February of this year.
Any decision government makes in 2011 will take into account relevant considerations including capability, cost, interoperability with other ADF capabilities, Australian industry opportunities, risk and value for money.