ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force
ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force
ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force
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SECoND P-3K2<br />
ACCEPTED<br />
on 16 March P-3k2 orion NZ 4201, the second upgraded<br />
orion was accepted by the Ministry of defence from the<br />
prime contractor, l-3 Integrated Systems, and delivered to<br />
whenuapai. NZ4201 is the first aircraft to be upgraded in<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> following on from the delivery in April last year<br />
of the prototype upgraded in Texas [see AFN 125 May 2011].<br />
The Minister of defence, Hon Jonathan coleman, said the project had achieved<br />
an important milestone with the delivery of the second aircraft—not only did the<br />
delivery represent a further platform with advanced technology for the RNZAF,<br />
it also demonstrated the skills and technical abilities of <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>’s aviation<br />
industry, with the work being done by <strong>Air</strong> <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong> subsidiary Safe <strong>Air</strong> limited in<br />
blenheim under sub-contract to l-3.<br />
“The return of the second upgraded P-3k2 orion to the RNZAF allows No.5<br />
Squadron to continue its transition from the traditional role as a Maritime Patrol<br />
<strong>Force</strong> to an <strong>Air</strong>borne Surveillance and Response <strong>Force</strong>.”<br />
The Minister commented that work is well advanced on the third aircraft to be<br />
upgraded, and that upgrade work has now commenced on the fourth aircraft in the<br />
RNZAF fleet. “The remaining two aircraft of our fleet will also be upgraded by Safe<br />
<strong>Air</strong> ltd in blenheim. Given the challenges involved in undertaking aircraft and mission<br />
system upgrades of the scale and complexity of the P-3k2 project, I am pleased that<br />
this work was done successfully in <strong>New</strong> <strong>Zealand</strong>,” Mr coleman said.<br />
The P-3k2 orion Upgrade Project<br />
• Upgrades to the aircraft’s communication, navigation, surveillance and<br />
data management systems,<br />
• A state-of-the-art flight deck,<br />
• Mission preparation and analysis systems,<br />
• crew training facilities, and<br />
• Software testing and integration tools.<br />
The first two upgraded aircraft will be used for transition training, and to<br />
conduct operational Testing and evaluation (oT&e) allowing our crews to develop<br />
the procedures to maximise the capability of the upgraded fleet.<br />
Maritime surveillance<br />
The kiribati fisherman<br />
waves to the orion<br />
kIRIbATI<br />
SeARcH<br />
ANd<br />
ReScUe<br />
An RNZAF P-3 orion successfully<br />
located a missing 15ft (4.5m) vessel<br />
in the kiribati region on 5 March.<br />
SQNldR Alan brown said “The <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>Zealand</strong> Rescue coordination centre<br />
received a request for assistance from<br />
the Republic of kiribati on the evening<br />
of 04 March, after a search conducted<br />
by local authorities resulted in no<br />
sightings.<br />
“The orion launched from RNZAF<br />
base whenuapai at 0700hrs on<br />
Monday 5 March, transited to kiribati<br />
waters and located the missing vessel<br />
within 20 minutes of arriving in the<br />
search area. one man was onboard<br />
the overdue vessel, which had been<br />
reported missing west of banaba<br />
Island, within the local fishing ground.<br />
“when located, the fisherman<br />
was standing up and waving at the<br />
orion crew. The vessel had drifted<br />
approximately 52 nautical miles from<br />
the fishing ground. The crew were<br />
able to drop supplies, including food,<br />
water and a radio, to the man. They<br />
then located and provided guidance to<br />
a nearby fishing vessel to enable it to<br />
divert to locate the survivor.<br />
“This was a great result, and the<br />
survivor was extremely relieved to<br />
receive our assistance,” SQNldR<br />
brown said.<br />
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> news 9