A Serbian Mi-8 helicopter gunship fires unguided rockets on targets during a training exercise in the village of Nikinci, west from Belgrade, November 14, 2014.
A Serbian Mi-8 helicopter gunship fires unguided rockets on targets during a training exercise in the village of Nikinci, west from Belgrade, November 14, 2014. Reuters/Marko Djurica

As part of the process to upgrade the helicopter fleet, the New Zealand Defence Force has begun adding newly acquired helicopters. The process started in the late 1990s, estiamted to cost of over $1 billion.

On March 6, the New Zealand Defence Force held a ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Base in Auckland and accepted three new Super Seasprite SH-2G(I) helicopters built by Kaman Aerospace. The helicopters had arrived in the country in January and five more are expected to be delivered by September 2015, the NZDF said in a statement.

Rear Admiral Jack Steer, Chief of the Royal New Zealand Navy described the helicopters' acceptance as a significant milestone in New Zealand's maritime aviation capabilities. “The Seasprites perform a vital function for the navy and enhance the roles of ships at sea by undertaking a range of tasks including maritime surveillance, search-and-rescue, counter-terrorism, and utility lift," he said.

Deployment

The RNZN is expected to deploy the Seasprites on board the multirole vessel HMNZS Canterbury and two of its Otago-class offshore patrol vessels and two ANZAC class frigates. The helicopters will be jointly operated between the Navy and Air Force with the aircraft flown by navy personnel and maintenance vested with Force engineers and technicians from the RNZAF's No. 6 Squadron at Whenuapai base, Auckland. Though officially, no information has been given out on its operational plans, it is expected that the aircraft when made fully operational will be armed with Penguin Mk 2 Mod 7 anti-ship missiles.

Modernisation

The maritime Seasprites topped the shopping list of helicopters by New Zealand. They also include the medium utility NH90s that will be replacing the Iroquois. Des Ashton, Deputy secretary for Acquisition, Ministry of Defence said a lot of work has gone into the helicopter programmes. He said the helicopters would meet the Government's objectives for many years to come, reports Radio Nz.

The new acquisitions will also address the need for external link compatible machines for the new 9,000t multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury. It was built under Project Protector, as part of the RNZN’s future plans to replace the F-421 HMNZS Canterbury frigate. It has space for two helicopters on board with extra capability to transport up to four more via tie-downs on the flight deck.

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