Skyhawk sale nears completion

The sale of 17 Skyhawk fighter jets to a United States company has taken so long because the deal had to go through three levels of US government approval, Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says.

The 17 jets were put up for sale after the Labour government decommissioned the air force's combat wing in 2001.

A private US company tentatively agreed to buy them and 17 Aermacchi jets.

The sale had now been approved and Dr Mapp hoped to see it concluded in "the next few months".

He said "critical steps" had been gone through - State Department, Congress and Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco approval.

"It's now really up to completing the actual contract and getting payment and delivering the aircraft," he told Radio New Zealand.

The jets were expected to earn $155 million.

The buyer will carry out their own inspection of the jets and the Government must ensure they are flyable.

The Skyhawks will require some repairs to meet that requirement, Dr Mapp said.

"We've now got to regenerate the aircraft to get them to flying condition ... I'm advised that that won't be a huge sum."

The sale was "part and parcel of an overall improvement in the relationship" between the US and New Zealand, he said.

The United States also confirmed it was considering a reversal of a ban on military training with New Zealand, put in place because of New Zealand's anti-nuclear stance.

The ban was absurd and the US was looking to review it, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said.

- NZPA