The Australian Department of Defence is expected to release a shortlist for its armed reconnaissance helicopter project by the end of this month. Industry sources are widely tipping the Agusta Scorpion variant of the A129 (above), Eurocopter's Tiger and the Boeing AH-64 Apache as the final contenders.
The project is also being contested by Bell with the AH-1Z Viper Cobra, Denel Aviation with the Rooivalk/Red Hawk, and Sikorsky with the Battle Hawk version of the UH-60 Black Hawk.
The project is cost-capped at A$1.2 billion ($764 million) and only the Sikorsky and Agusta bids came in under that amount, according to well-placed Australian defence sources.
Sikorsky's bid is understand to have been the least expensive in the overall order, followed by Agusta, Bell and Eurocopter, with the helicopter offers from Denel Aviation and Boeing being the two most expensive.
Singapore recently selected the Apache for its attack helicopter requirement.
Source: Flight International
