Helicopter flight crews and ground maintenance teams will carry rifles and pistols when they arrive in the Solomons as part of an Anzac peace-keeping force.
The first of the air force's No 3 Squadron Iroquois helicopters was due to leave the Ohakea base tomorrow in an air force Hercules and the air force said it would also take door-mounted 7.62mm machine guns although they may not be routinely fitted.
As well as the four Iroquois helicopters, New Zealand is sending 105 troops and 35 police to the strife-torn islands where law and order has all but broken down.
They will join a contingent of 2000 armed Australian troops and police.
The air force said the flight and ground crew would initially carry Steyr rifles when they arrived at Henderson Field and would be permitted under the rules of engagement to shoot in self-defence, although the rules had yet to be finalised.
By the end of the month, after another eight Hercules supply flights, the first Iroquois would be joined by three other helicopters, spares and the rest of the flight and ground maintenance crews.
The helicopters would largely be used by the police and the Australians but contingent commander Wing Commander Ron Thacker said it would include a range of tasks.
"It will be mobility, getting police and military forces from A to B. There will certainly be a fair amount of civil aid and humanitarian assistance work tied in with New Zealand aid agencies and we will also have the medivac for the forces in theatre."
He said although the climate was similar to East Timor, where the air force also had four Iroquois helicopters, the humidity would be much higher.
"The humidity will be a big issue for us. It will be worse than Timor and will affect both people and aircraft.
"The goods news is that I don't see us doing a lot of work at altitude as we did in Timor. A lot of the work will be at lower levels."
During the three years the Iroquois were based in Suai on the southern Coast of East Timor, much of their work was high-altitude flying to and from the border with West Timor and high camps where the New Zealand troops were based.
The high flying significantly reduced the Iroquois' performance.
"It certainly highlighted the fact that the poor old Iroquois was struggling to do what we asked of it."
Wing Cdr Thacker said low-level flying in the Solomons would suit the Iroquois far better.
"The electronics are not too bad. It is a relatively simple and robust aircraft and in that respect it should serve us pretty well.
"The biggest influence for us is that humidity affects the performance of the engine. Effectively you have got to fly to conditions."
He said the team heading to the Solomons had all spent considerable time in East Timor where they had a "healthy respect for the limitations of the aircraft in that sort of environment.
"It is still effectively jungle terrain so a lot of the pads we are likely to go into will be vertical or quite tight pads. It is going to be hot, it is going to be humid and it will take us a while to adjust."
He said the contingent would initially be housed in tents and would carry enough weapons, kit, food and water to last 14 days.
They were likely to live on ration packs until accommodation was finalised, possibly in some of the buildings already on Henderson Field and until meal facilities were established, probably through the Australian defence forces within a week or 10 days.
The helicopters would be rotated out of the Solomons once a month and brought back to New Zealand for major servicing.
One item near the top of Wing Cdr Thacker's list of tasks soon after he arrives is to issue a gentle reminder to the Australian contingent of the result of the world netball championship: New Zealand 49, Australia 47.
"We will be winding them up, hopefully more so when we win the rugby as well."
- NZPA
NZ troops to carry weapons in Solomons
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