![FILE - New Zealand's Defence Minister Judith Collins, speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue for the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) Defence Ministers' Meeting [FDMM], in Singapore, Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian,File)](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/41045986/157567464fc71785537aa4d97d182cbe374c94f9fcc5b94300213d267a830ab5)
Overview
- Five MH-60R Seahawks and two Airbus A321XLRs will be acquired, funded at NZ$2.0 billion and NZ$700 million respectively.
- The helicopter buy will proceed through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, with a cabinet business case scheduled for 2026.
- Defence Minister Judith Collins said the MH-60Rs will take a few years to arrive as New Zealand joins the production queue.
- The A321XLRs will be obtained on a six-year lease-to-buy to replace unreliable 30-year-old Boeing 757s, with service entry targeted for 2028.
- The purchases mark the first procurements under April’s Defence Capability Plan to lift spending toward 2% of GDP, following intelligence citing rising foreign interference risks.