The Government has unveiled its first major investment decisions under the Defence Capability Plan (DCP), committing $2.7 billion to replace aging aircraft with new Seahawk helicopters and Airbus planes.
Defence Minister Judith Collins and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters confirmed today that the MH-60R Seahawk has been selected as the preferred option to replace the Defence Force’s current maritime helicopters, while the Airbus A321XLR will take over from the aging Boeing 757 fleet.
Collins said the decisions will provide New Zealand with a “combat capable, interoperable and dependable fleet,” strengthening the country’s naval deterrence and international response capabilities. “These five Seahawks will increase the offensive and defensive capability and surveillance range of New Zealand’s frigates and ensure we are interoperable with our ally Australia and other partner defence forces,” she said.
The helicopters, valued at over $2 billion, will be procured through the United States’ Foreign Military Sales programme, with Cabinet expected to consider the final business case next year. The two new Airbus aircraft will be acquired on a six-year lease-to-buy arrangement, with capital costs of $620 million and operating costs of $80.86 million over four years.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the investment reflects the need to respond to “rapidly increasing global tensions” and to safeguard New Zealand’s security and prosperity. “The DCP provides the foundation for our uplift in defence spending, and two-yearly reviews will allow us to adapt to an ever-changing security environment,” he said.
Collins added that the extra long-range Airbus planes will provide reliable capacity for military deployments, humanitarian missions, civilian evacuations, and government travel, including flights to remote destinations such as Antarctica.
The investment forms part of the $12 billion in commitments outlined in the 2025 Defence Capability Plan announced in April.
Delighted to announce with @NewZealandMFA that Seahawk helicopters & Airbus planes will replace our aging Maritime helicopters & 757s. We’re rebuilding our Defence force: https://t.co/538hIufgoW
(Video credits: @NZDefenceForce @Airbus @DeptofDefense @DefenceAust ) pic.twitter.com/zOxUyzy0n2— Judith Collins (@JudithCollinsMP) August 21, 2025
Just hope they will staff the helicopter with well experienced pilots and not follow DEI example of the Navy
You are going to be disappointed.
Thankyou for making me laugh out loud LOL.
Another disgraceful waste of public money to lick the boots of the US and the UK. Meanwhile Kiwi’s die in poorly funded hospitals, the economy slides south and people leave because they quite rightly see no future, under such incompetent governance.
Don’t forget the Covid fallout ongoing plague debacle
Vaccine damage now labeled collateral damage ‘long-covid’
An economy in tatters on life support having had the lifeblood throttled out of it through completely unnecessary ‘lock-downs’
Lives destroyed and lost
Dreams shattered
And what for?
A virus that has never been proven to exist
A fact that appears to have conveniently disappeared not having come under scrutiny avoiding detection to those perpetraitors implicated complicit and in collusion
Until we clean this mess up and elucidate what really happened in Christchurch there is no going forward
Problems don’t go way but fester and manifest themselves in the National consciousness which form a collective resentment
But Yes the incompetence!
Off the charts and getting worse by the day
We are surrounded by morons acting out the part of crisis actors called politicians
You could go on about this all day