KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA will buy 12 military helicopters from Eurocopter in a S$686 million deal, an official said on Thursday, two years after the plan was shelved due to the financial crisis.
In October 2008 the government scrapped a contract awarded to the European firm for 12 Cougar EC725 helicopters as a cost-cutting move and to reprioritise its budget because of the bleak global economy.
A defence ministry official confirmed the order had been reinstated, with government officials signing a contract worth 1.6 billion ringgit (S$686 million) with Eurocopter at a defence exhibition in Kuala Lumpur this week.
'We are expecting Eurocopter to deliver the first helicopter in 2012,' the official, who requested for anonymity, told AFP. He added that the ministry will officially get an endorsement of the deal from the cabinet on Friday.
Eurocopter is the helicopter unit of European aerospace giant, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS). The group's products account for 30 per cent of the total world helicopter fleet.
Eurocopter was awarded the contract to replace Malaysia's fleet of 28 military Nuri transport helicopters in 2008, but opposition parties criticised the deal and alleged there were irregularities involved in the procurement. The government has denied the claim. -- AFP
I thought they are also getting 400 APV.....or IFV....of some sort....
wah, the choppers so expensive ah..............so is some kind of ''under-table'' deal in the works again ?
will the choppers be able to hover ?