Black Hawk: Defence Ministry should cancel contract if clause permits

PUTRAJAYA - The Defence Ministry (Mindef) should cancel the lease agreement for four Black Hawk helicopters.

Defence analyst Zaki Salleh said this would be the right decision if there was a clause within the terms and conditions that allowed for cancellation.

"The ministry needs to review the terms and conditions of the agreement thoroughly," he said.

He added that if there were any terms that were detrimental to the government, the cancellation decision should be considered.

"We do not have further details regarding the contract, so they need to scrutinise it carefully before making a decision," he said.

He made these comments in response to Mindef's move to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the lease agreement for the four Black Hawk helicopters before deciding on the next steps.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said a decision will be made whether to cancel the contract or to give the supplier additional time.

The Black Hawks were expected to be used by the Malaysian Armed Forces in remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as for transporting equipment.

The four Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters were supposed to be delivered to the Malaysian Army (TDM) last November.

However, they were also not delivered last April due to constraints involving the contractor and the helicopter manufacturer, causing a slight delay.

Zaki added that the committee within the contract needed to act firmly according to the agreed terms.

"Every contract agreement has a committee that monitors the progress of a contract until it is completed," he said.

He said the failure of the local air service provider, Aerotree Defence & Services Sdn Bhd to deliver the four helicopters valued at RM187 million has somewhat disrupted TDM's operations.

"The need for helicopters is seen as urgent after the absence of Nuri; this squadron does not have any air assets.

"Soon, they need helicopters to facilitate operations and training," he said.

The 882sk transport squadron suspended the use of Sikorsky S-61A-4 Nuri transport helicopters in 2020.

The UH-60A Black Hawks were intended to replace the S-61A-4s.