The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) combat helicopter fleet is undergoing a period of significant change. The old aircraft will be decommissioned soon and will be replaced by new ones. Only the NHI MRH-90 Taipan fleet -developed by the European NHIndustries- will remain intact for the time being.

The S-70A9 Black Hawk will retire by 2021. It is an aircraft that has a long career of 33 years and over 200,000 flight hours. The first delivery of 39 helicopters dates back to 1988. The few rotorcraft remaining in service operate in counter-terrorism and special operations missions. Also via the Tiger ARH.

Among the new arrivals will be the AH-64E Apache Guardian which will be the next armed reconnaissance helicopter of the Army from 2025. There are 29 aircraft in total: some will be operational immediately, while five will be assigned for training. Meanwhile, in recent months the United States Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has approved the sale of 4 more medium-range CH-47F Chinook helicopters, which will bring the total fleet to 14 units.