New Zealand will spend nearly NZ$3bn ($1.7bn) upgrading its ageing defence fleet, including replacing its “embarrassing” planes that have left multiple prime ministers grounded during international travel, the government has announced.
The defence minister, Judith Collins, said NZ$2bn would be spent buying five MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and another NZ$700m to buy two Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
“These are once-in-a-generation investments which are a vital down payment on our future security and our prosperity in a world where tensions are rising and distance no longer provides New Zealand the protection it once did,” Collins told a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
In April, New Zealand pledged to boost its defence spending by NZ$9bn over the next four years, and aims to nearly double spending to 2% as a share of GDP in the next eight years as part of its defence capability plan.
The upgrade of the defence fleet is part of those planned commitments.
“Defence is not something that can be mothballed until you need it,” Collins said. “We need a force that is ready and equipped to do whatever is asked of it today, tomorrow and beyond, and to ensure we can deploy, deter, defend and respond to protect New Zealand.”
The defence force loans planes to New Zealand leaders when they embark on international travel, but the 30-year-old fleet has been plagued with problems in recent years – an issue the prime minister, Christopher Luxon, has previously labelled “incredibly embarrassing”.
Last year, Luxon was forced to travel on a last-minute commercial flight to Australia for a summit after the RNZAF Boeing 757 he was due to use was grounded over maintenance issues.
Former prime ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern and Sir John Key have both been grounded during trips around the world after 757s and Hercules aircraft broke down. Last year, former prime minister Chris Hipkins was forced to bring a backup plane on a trip to China over fears the plane he was travelling on was unreliable.
The two new Airbus aircraft – set to replace the Boeing 757 planes – were long-range aircraft that could return safely from Antarctica if they were unable to land due to conditions on the ice, Collins said.
The planes would be acquired on a six-year lease-to-buy arrangement and would be ready to use in 2028.
The new maritime helicopters would ensure New Zealand fulfilled its objective of having a more integrated Anzac force and would be a more reliable option for the deployment of defence personnel, Collins said.
The helicopter would be equipped with torpedos and missiles, which would “increase the lethality and defensive capability of New Zealand’s fleet”, she said.
The foreign minister, Winston Peters, said the government’s investment showed it was responding to “the sharply deteriorating security environment”.
“Global tensions are increasing rapidly and we must invest in our national security to ensure our economic prosperity.”
New Zealand’s spy agency released a report on Thursday saying the country was facing its toughest national security challenges in recent times, with increasing threats of foreign interference and espionage, particularly from China.
