Every operational squadron flying as Royal New Zealand Air Force operations continue to pace

“It’s been a great time for our Air Force,” said Chief of Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb.

“Every one of our operational squadrons has been flying in recent times in support of New Zealand and our partners, from the central North Island to the Pacific and across the Asia-Pacific region.”

Air Component Commander Air Commodore Andy Scott said that over a four-day period, there were “personnel and aircraft on operations, exercises and providing contingency responses to help people in need across Niue, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Singapore, Australia and the United States as well as at home”.

“This highlights the breadth of work our people do on a daily basis and the importance of maintaining a well trained and equipped defence force to deliver both pre-planned and contingency operations 365 days of the year,” he said.

Recent activities have included crew from No. 5 Squadron flying the P-8A Poseidon on a search and rescue mission in the Pacific, successfully locating three Kiribati fishermen on a small boat to the east of Tarawa.

Aircraft pilot, Flight Lieutenant Stuart Glendinning, said the three men had not returned from fishing and had been located by the P-8A crew well over 160 nautical miles from shore, four days after the engine on their dinghy had failed.

“We remained on the scene after finding the men and coordinated a rescue by a vessel nearby,” Flight Lieutenant Glendinning said.

While this Pacific search and rescue was underway, crew from No. 3 Squadron with an NH90 Helicopter were conducting search and rescue training over the weekend, including winch familarisation, with New Zealand Police search and rescue personnel.

The training, involving 12 Police search and rescue members and over 2.5 flying hours, included winching personnel to a hut in the Ruahine Ranges, practising techniques used in emergencies.

Two other NH90s deployed over the weekend to Hawaii on two USAF C-17 aircraft recently exercising in NZ, to participate in exercises with Indo-Pacific Partners at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Centre.

Other recent activities included personnel from No. 40 Squadron deploying a C-130J Hercules to deliver a Fire and Emergency New Zealand fire appliance to Niue to bolster response capability in the Pacific nation.

This aircraft had just returned from taking personnel and equipment between Fiji and Tuvalu for Pacific engagement ahead of COP31, the United Nations climate conference in Türkiye.

Another C-130J was also transporting Australian Defence Force soldiers from a multinational exercise in Papua New Guinea, supporting regional security cooperation. 

No. 40 Squadron then started to fly New Zealand Defence Force personnel home from Penhryn in the Cook Islands, where personnel have been conducting construction and maintenance tasks, medical and dental outreach, and hydrographic surveying on Exercise Tropic Twilight.

Also in the Pacific, No. 42 Squadron personnel have been conducting maritime patrols on an MC-12K King Air in Vanuatu in support of a variety of Vanuatu Government departments and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, helping monitor and protect the region’s valuable fisheries resources.

Today, another P-8A will also support the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency conducting further patrols across the Pacific searching for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

As well as this, a P-8A and personnel have joined Five Power Defence Arrangements partners on Ex Bersama Lima in Singapore, and No. 6 Squadron Seasprite helicopter crews, embarked on HMNZ Ships Te Mana and Aotearoa, have continued flying operations as part of Operation Crucible, a five-month regional presence deployment across the Asia-Pacific region.

“These missions reflect the breadth of what our people do every day: supporting those in need, contributing to regional security, strengthening partnerships, and protecting our shared Pacific interests,” Air Vice-Marshal Webb said. 

“As always, it’s the strength of our talented people that make the operations possible. My thanks to all involved, including the maintainers, support staff and families for the work they do.”