Three NH90 helicopters were put through their paces as part of an intensive flying training programme around Waiouru.
It was the first time that the NH90 had carried fully equipped troops and it was also the first low level formation flying had been undertaken away from Ohakea, which is a significant milestone in the training and testing of the aircraft and crew.
courtesy of NZDF
Air Force transport jets have been in the gun for their reliability this year - but new figures reveal the readiness of our flagship choppers is even lower. George Block reports.
The mission-readiness of New Zealand’s military helicopters has plunged below that of the beleaguered pair of transportjets as the Air Force battles to retain skilled staff.
New figures released by the New Zealand Defence Force show the serviceability of the Air Force’s fleet of eight NH90 helicopters nose-dived to 34 per cent in January, down from 68 per cent in 2022 and 51 per cent last year.
The serviceability of the Navy’s Seasprites is even lower, at just 11 per cent in January.
The culprit is the well-publicised staffing woes of the Defence Force, especially among technicians who can command higher pay in the private sector.
A Defence Force spokesperson confirmed the reduction in NH90 serviceability - meaning the overall mission-readiness of the fleet - was a result of high attrition among the Air Force’s technical workforce.
“This coincided with 2023 being the busiest year yet for NH90 flying operations which subsequently generated an increase in maintenance,” the spokesperson said.
Those operations included the response to Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle and deployments to Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Australia.
In addition to the attrition of technical staff, maintenance personnel were required to go abroad on these deployments, reducing the number of personnel available back home at Ōhakea air base to keep the other choppers airworthy, the spokesperson said.
“The prioritisation of maintenance support to operational demands results in aircraft maintenance taking longer to achieve as fewer maintenance tasks can be completed at the same time.”
A related helicopter used by the Australian Air Force, the MRH90 Taipan, was retired early after a fatal crash during a training exercise killed four personnel.
Following the crash, the Royal New Zealand Air Force briefly paused NH90 flights for a risk assessment.
A Defence spokesman said the reduced serviceability of the NH90s was not linked to the retirement of the Taipans across the Ditch.
Figures featured in documents released by the Defence Force under the Official Information Act show the two Air Force Boeing 757 transport jets had a serviceability of 43 per cent in January and 47 per cent last year.
An officer aboard an NH90 during a rescue operation in the Tararua Range. Photo / NZDF
The breakdown was labelled embarrassing by ministers and sparked renewed questions over whether they needed to be replaced, following several other breakdowns in recent years.
But Defence Minister Judith Collins said there was no money to replace the planes any time soon.
The serviceability of the new P-8A Poseidon fleet, introduced last year to replace the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, was 63 per cent in 2023 and rising to 70 per cent in January this year, Defence figures show.
The armed forces have endured a staff retention crisis in recent years as personnel leave the uniformed services for better pay in the private sector.
The Defence Force lost almost a third of its uniformed service personnel in the 21 months to April last year.
In the Air Force, 70 per cent of those surveyed said low pay was a trigger for them to quit.
The lowest serviceability rate among Kiwi military aircraft was the SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopter fleet, flown by Navy aircrew but maintained by the Air Force.
They are deployed on the Navy’s frigates and designed for maritime patrols and targeting ships and submarines, alongside search and rescue at sea.
Their serviceability plummeted to 11 per cent in January from 19 per cent in 2023 and 38 per cent in 2019.
Defence is set to retire the Seasprites within the next few years and went to the market in 2023 with a request-for-information on possible replacements.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
