• The NZDF will acquire four P8-As to replace six Orions.
RNZAF via Twitter
    The NZDF will acquire four P8-As to replace six Orions. RNZAF via Twitter
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New Zealand’s Defence Minister Ron Mark announced this week that the Coalition government has selected the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to fulfil its Future Air Surveillance Capability (FASC) requirements.

The announcement on July 9 covers the purchase of four P-8As to replace the RNZAF’s fleet of six Lockheed Martin P-3K2 Orions, which first entered service in 1966 and are expected to reach their life of type in 2025.

The aircraft will be delivered in time to begin operations with the RNZAF’s No.5 Squadron in 2023. Currently based at RNZAF Base Auckland (Whenuapai), 5 Sqn will relocate to RNZAF Ohakea in time to commence P-8A operations.

According to the NZ government, the deal is valued at NZ$2.36 billion (AU$2.17 billion) and will also include the purchase of training systems, infrastructure and entry into service costs. The press release accompanying the announcement stated that the capital cost will be spread over several fiscal years, out to 2025/26, and that Wellington considered the P-8A to be the “most cost-effective maritime patrol aircraft available.”

“The purchase ensures the Defence Force can continue to deliver the country’s maritime surveillance, resource protection, humanitarian and disaster response around New Zealand and across the South Pacific,” Mark said.

The decision strengthens the Coalition government’s Pacific Reset by providing a maritime patrol capability with the significant range and endurance needed to assist partners in the region.

“The purchase enables NZ to continue to deploy in a wide range of airborne maritime situations independently, and when required, work effectively with partners including Australia, the UK and the US, which all operate, or will operate, the aircraft.”

Besides Australia, which has now received seven of the 12 P-8As it currently has on order, the Indian Navy also operates the very similar P-8I Neptune version in our region. On June 25, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) also announced that it would seek to purchase an unspecified number of P-8As from the US Government via the Foreign Military Sales process, rather than run an open competition.

The NZ and South Korean decisions come as a blow to Saab, which is looking for a launch customer for its Swordfish MPA platform, based on the Bombardier Global 6000 business aircraft. Airbus Defence and Space had also offered the MPA version of its successful C-295 turboprop military transport to both countries.

The NZ government’s announcement also flagged the future purchase of a complementary maritime surveillance capability to provide additional surveillance within NZ’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and therefore free up the P-8A for blue water surveillance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tasks.

“The complementary capability will consider smaller manned aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft systems or satellites,” Mark said.

ADM Comment: The P-8A juggernaut rolls on, with the aircraft now establishing itself as the platform of choice for countries seeking a high-end ASW and maritime surveillance platform, but it is hoped that its recent success in the Asia-Pacific region will also yield savings and synergies for partner nations. Australia, for example, has established a high quality (and expensive) P-8A training centre at RAAF Edinburgh and we assume there is capacity to make these facilities available to friends and neighbours like NZ, therefore reducing the through-life costs of the Poseidon for both countries.

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