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Ministers and Senators Behaving Badly Series 4

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If you can't convince them, then confuse them …<br />

Defence Department is growing more secretive<br />

<strong>and</strong> less transparent<br />

Defence Force's MRH-90 Taipan helicopter doors 'not wide<br />

enough' to allow guns to fire while troops are exiting<br />

by Defence Correspondent Andrew Greene for ABC News<br />

on 27 October 2020<br />

Defence officials concede issues prevent soldiers from rappelling<br />

from the helicopter while the gun is firing.<br />

(Supplied: Department of Defence/Cpl Sagi Biderman)<br />

Key points:<br />

• Defence Chief General Angus Campbell said Taipan was an<br />

"extraordinary helicopter" but conceded there were problems<br />

• The Army has been employing "tactical workarounds" to allow the<br />

aircraft to complete its duties<br />

• Senate Estimates also heard there has been an issue with the<br />

helicopter's cargo hook<br />

Defence has admitted the door on its multi-role Taipan helicopters is too<br />

narrow to allow its gun to fire while troops are descending from the<br />

aircraft.<br />

During a Senate Estimates hearing, officials have confirmed a third round<br />

of work is being carried out on the MRH-90 Taipan fleet that was bought

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