The New Zealand government has announced it has sold five soon-to-be-retired RNZN SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters to Peru. The aircraft were new-build machines which entered service with 3SQN in 2001 and 2003, and which are now in the process of being replaced by 10 SH-2G(I) Super Seasprites which were part of a former Australian order,
The RAAF has accepted the first two of 10 C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters onto the Commonwealth register, and commenced maintenance training on the aircraft at L-3’s facility at Waco in Texas on December 8, and aircrew training with instructors from L-3 Communications on December 15. The milestone is the latest in the RAAF’s effort to
Media reports in New Zealand have indicted the NZ Defence Force may be considering acquiring between two and four C-17s to replace its C-130H Hercules and Boeing 757 transports in service. First reported with little accompanying detail on Auckland’s Radio ZB on December 13, the story has spread across social media in the past week, particularly
Kevin Andrews has been named as the new Minister for Defence as part of a cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Canberra on Sunday. Andrews, until now Minister for Social Services, will take on the portfolio from Senator David Johnston, who will leave cabinet despite the Prime Minister praising for him doing
The first RAAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II arrived at Luke AFB near Phoenix in Arizona on December 18 to join the USAF-led training pool there. F-35A A35-002 (AU-2) was flown by a USAF pilot, and was welcomed to Luke by the Australian air attache to Washington AIRCDRE Gary Martin, the first Australian F-35 pilot
The ADF has released a redacted commission of inquiry (CoI) report into the crash of an Army CH-47D Chinook in Afghanistan on May 30 2011 which resulted in the death of Army LT Marcus Case. LT Case had recently arrived in Afghanistan to join the Kandahar-based Heron RPV detachment. He was riding on the open rear
