Airborne Surveillance and Response Forces
Roles
- Surveillance and reconnaissance
- Search and rescue
- Direct support operations:
- Civil Agencies
- Fleet Protection
- Force Protection
- Maritime air operations
- Emergency air transport
- Government and Community Support
Major Units
- No 5 Squadron RNZAF
- 6 x P–3K Orion Patrol aircraft
The provision of No 5 Squadron RNZAF prepared for the conduct of maritime surveillance of New Zealand’s EEZ, the Pacific region and the Southern Ocean, search and rescue missions, and maritime air operations. This expense also includes the provision of Orion aircraft for a range of services to Government and the community.
With its long range, relatively high transit speed, and spacious cabin the Orion airframe provides an ideal platform for patrolling the vast areas encompassed by the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone (the fourth largest in the world), as well as assisting Pacific nations, meeting our obligations in the southern ocean, and conducting long range search and rescue.