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'It's over,' says Defence Minister on cancellation of Black Hawk helicopter lease

SHAH ALAM: The Defence Ministry has submitted a cancellation notice to the company that won the contract to lease four Black Hawk helicopters to the army, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

This comes after the final extension of the deal, which expired at the end of October, as the firm failed to meet the earlier deadlines.

"October is over, it's already over. There's nothing (the Black Hawks), nothing.

"The cancellation notice has already been sent," Khaled said briefly when asked on an update on the matter at a press conference after attending the send-off ceremony for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) Malaysian Batallion 850-12 at Subang Air Base, here.

Previously, local air service provider Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn Bhd signed a contract in May last year to lease four Sikorsky UH-60A+ Black Hawk helicopters to the army's air corps.

Under the RM187 million deal, the first helicopter was supposed to be delivered in November last year, but that deadline was pushed to April this year.

In August, the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) outlined the possible options for the Army to cancel the Black Hawk lease, due to the delivery delays.

In July, Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said in the Dewan Rakyat that Aerotree attributed the delays to the prolonged war in Ukraine, which had caused supply chain disruptions and tighter approval condiction by the United States regulators.

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