Goff's fighter jet sales pitch

On the eve of his visit to the United States, Defence Minister Phil Goff said yesterday that he would try to win approval for the sale of the Air Force's mothballed aircraft.

An American company is buying the 17 Skyhawks and 17 Aermacchi aircraft for $155 million but the deal cannot be finalised until Washington approves it because the planes were originally purchased from the US Government.