West Auckland naval aviator monitors illegal ship movements

Lieutenant Waikie Wang, 25, from West Auckland, went to Kelston Boys’ High School and enlisted with the Navy in 2020. He is now an airborne tactical officer serving with the embarked flight crew on the frigate HMNZS Te Mana during an RNZN Task Group deployment to North Asia, detecting and monitoring sanctions evasions by North Korea.

Airborne tactical officers, or “observers” as they are commonly known, are a key link between aircraft and ship, using and evaluating helicopter sensor information and performing tactical analysis to employ the helicopter in the best way to accomplish the mission. 

Lieutenant Wang’s expertise is critical in tracing vessels of interest, looking out for illegal ship-to-ship transfers.

“It's been really good going out and using the sensors and all my skills as an observer to find the ships we’re interested in,” he says.

“Every time we take off there’s excitement.”

He has spent years honing his skills with No.6 Squadron, the Auckland-based maritime squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) that uses naval aviators as flight crew and RNZAF ground crew for ship deployments.

“This operation highlights the importance of doing our training properly, utilising the simulator, the radar and the camera on the aircraft.” 

A challenge for Lieutenant Wang aboard the helicopter is balancing all the different tasks required of the aircraft while conducting flight operations. He has to constantly prioritise which tasks come first. 

“This job is not something that you can do by yourself.

“You need to rely on the team and work with everyone on the aircraft to help deliver the different tasks to complete the mission.”

For anyone thinking of joining the Royal New Zealand Navy he says, do it. 

“Choose your role based on your hobbies and you'll find a job that you'll love.”