Ukraine turns down free Australian Tiger attack helicopters over high operating costs
Ukraine has decided against taking retired Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters from Australia despite their being offered free of charge, citing high operating costs and maintenance challenges.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko told Defense Express that Kyiv had dropped its request for the helicopters as Canberra phases them out in favor of U.S.-made AH-64E Apaches.
According to Defense Express, the decision followed an assessment of several factors, including the cost per flight hour, availability of spare parts, the helicopters’ technical condition and the configuration Ukraine could expect to receive.
Although the aircraft themselves would have been provided free as military aid, Ukraine would still have to pay to operate and maintain them, keep them combat-ready and train pilots and technical personnel.
Australia is retiring its Tiger fleet partly because of high operating costs and difficulties maintaining readiness. Germany has encountered similar problems with the helicopters and has also decided to phase them out.
Australia had been considering transferring the aircraft to Ukraine since at least 2024.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is looking at other options for its future army aviation fleet. Ukrainian Army Aviation officials said in summer 2026 that they saw the UH-60 Black Hawk as a potential backbone of the fleet. U.S. manufacturer Bell has also established a subsidiary in Ukraine and proposed supplying UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters with localized production.