The decision comes as Defence investigates two incidents involving the aircraft, including the fatal Lindeman Island crash in July which killed four aircrew. Defence said it was still investigating the cause of the crash.

A separate investigation found that an MRH-90 carrying elite soldiers crashed into the water at Jervis Bay in March after the left-hand engine failed.

The Canberra Times understands that Defence approached NH90 operators about purchasing the aircraft and spare parts, but started disassembling them after no one was interested in buying them whole.

Minister for Defence Richard Marles told reporters on Friday that "we are looking at all the options available for maximising the value which sits within the Taipan fleet".

The government announced in September that the MRH-90 helicopter fleet would be grounded.

Mr Marles told Today at the time that they wouldn't be flying the aircraft until the crash investigation was finalised next year and that, given the government had been planning on retiring the Taipans at the end of 2024, "there is no world in which we would be flying these helicopters again".

A Defence spokesperson said it was working with Airbus Australia Pacific and NATO Helicopter industries to harvest the fleet for spare parts to use on other NH90 operators.

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Responding to questions over reports that it was allegedly burying parts on a Defence site, the spokesperson said "Defence will dispose of the remaining airframes and systems in an environmentally friendly and cost effective manner".

The MRH-90 helicopters had been beset with problems for years and had been placed on the Australian projects of concern list in 2011, with a spokesperson for Defence telling this masthead that the aircraft had been unable to "meet the Defence's capability, availability and affordability requirements".

A number of problems had been previously identified, including transmission oil cooler fan failure, windscreen cracking, slow alignment of the navigation system, and a weak cabin floor.

In January 2023, Defence announced the government's decision to acquire 30 UH-60M Black Hawks to rapidly replace the army's MRH-90 fleet.

"Defence considered a number of helicopter replacement options, with the Black Hawk representing the most expedient and lowest risk option to replace the MRH-90," a Defence spokesperson said.

The Lindeman Island crash marked the ADF's worst peacetime tragedy in almost 30 years, since 18 men were killed when two Black Hawks crashed mid-air near Townsville in 1996.