Forces fleet gets $700m for upgrade

By FRANCESCA MOLD

The Government will spend about $700 million upgrading the Air Force's six ageing Orion aircraft and replacing its fleet of 14 Iroquois helicopters.

The Air Force spend-up was given the go-ahead by the Cabinet yesterday, along with the purchase of a new Sioux training helicopter worth $11 million.

Defence Minister Mark Burton also revealed yesterday that 24 automatic grenade launchers worth between $10 million and $22 million and the same number of Javelin anti-armour weapon systems, valued at $22 million, would be bought for the Army.

The Air Force investment comes just three weeks after the Cabinet decided to replace the fault-prone VIP transport jets - Boeing 727-100s - with two Boeing 757-200 jets at a cost of up to $200 million and upgrade the C130H Hercules transport aircraft.

The upgrade, which will extend the Hercules' life by 15 years, will cost between between $100 million and $170 million.

Concern had been growing that the 36-year-old P-3 Orions were in desperate need of an upgrade. Air Force maintenance figures showed the aircraft were experiencing equipment failure every second time they took to the skies.

Defence Force chief Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson said Air Force staff were working long hours, in trying conditions and frequently under considerable pressure, to keep the aircraft maintained and ready for duty.

The upgrade means the Orions will be fitted with new radars, video/infrared cameras, electronic surveillance systems and mission management systems.

The changes will improve the aircraft's ability to detect and identify targets from some distance away and will also allow for more surveillance information to be collected and processed.

Improvements to the communications and navigation systems will allow the Orions to instantly send text and imagery ashore or to other patrol vessels.

Mr Burton said tenders for the upgrade would go out early next year. It was expected the modification of the first Orion would be carried out overseas but work on the remaining five aircraft would be done in New Zealand.

The final costs of the upgrade project would go to the Cabinet by the end of next year. Mr Burton said it was likely to be more than $300 million.

The first of the upgraded aircraft would be back in use by 2006, with the remaining five finished by 2008.

National Party defence spokesman Richard Worth said he was worried that the Orion aircraft going to the Gulf to support the United States-led war against terrorism next year would not be upgraded until it returned from duty.

He was angry that the Government was prepared to send an ill-equipped Orion into a world hot-spot.

But Mr Burton said the aircraft being deployed met the necessary standards.

Final figures on the cost of replacing the country's 14 Iroquois aircraft will be presented to the Cabinet by next August.

The Iroquois provide support to New Zealand forces, particularly during peacekeeping operations and in the South Pacific.

They are also used to support police and counter-terrorist operations. The fleet is suffering airframe fatigue and equipment obsolescence. An upgrade was initially considered but it is now accepted that they will need to be replaced.

Mr Burton said the Air Force's Sioux training helicopter dated back to the 1950s and was no longer useful for training pilots progressing from Airtrainer aircraft to Iroquois and Seasprite helicopters.

The replacement helicopter could be either leased or purchased. Options would be presented to the Cabinet early next year.

The new grenade launchers are single-barrelled guns, mounted on a tripod or on top of a vehicle.

They fire 40mm grenades up to 2200m. The new medium-range anti-armour weapons are shoulder-launched, portable anti-tank missile systems with the same range as the grenade launchers.

They will be bought by 2004 so they can be used with the new light-armoured vehicles already ordered. The purchase of 24 units of each will cost up to $44 million.

Herald feature: Defence