KEY POINTS:
After 16 months of extensive modifications in the United States, the first of the Air Force's Boeing 757 fleet has returned to New Zealand.
The aircraft has been at Mobile Aerospace Engineering in Alabama for airframe and avionics modifications.
It touched down at the Air Force's air movements terminal in Wellington yesterday for an official welcome from Defence Minister Phil Goff.
The aircraft, NZ7571, is one of two Boeing 757s to be upgraded in a $221 million modification project which started in May 2003, when the Air Force replaced its ageing Boeing 727 aircraft.
The jet is expected to be operational before the end of the year.
