kiwi fighters sold at last?

[ZK-NSJ]

according to a report on tonights news, the kiwi skyhawks and aermacchis have been sold to an american pilot training company, the ugly bag is keeping mum on it but says details will be released on monday, there was a figure of $100 million been thrown around.

[RiskyRossco]

Sooner the Worker's Paradise of Helengrad returns to pre-Revolutionary Wellington the better.
Commie Pinko Huggy-fluffist and her Nanny State, head-up-her-own-@B$e social engineering platform. . . mutter-mutter. . . mumble-mumble. . .
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[Ex Douglas Driver]

What a surprise, the sale going through right before the election. The shame is not that the aircraft are being sold, it's that they were not replaced and many good people lost their jobs. Ah well, we all moved on to other things - whether they're better things, can be debated over 20 million lagers.

Sep 10, 2005

A sale has finally been struck and after four years New Zealand's Skyhawks are off to a new home.

One News can reveal the planes have been sold to an American company but the deal is so top secret Prime Minister Helen Clark claims she did not even know about it.

When asked about the multi million dollar deal, Clark said she had not had a briefing and did not know if they had been sold.

Clark then came back within an hour with a statement saying that officials had come to an agreement..

"I understand negotiations have gone very well and that officials have been able to conclude a heads of agreement but that has to come up to the cabinet and I'll be in a position to accept that as a late paper for monday," Clark said.

One news understands both the Skyhawk and Aermacchi training aircraft have been sold to an American pilot training company.

Clark says there has been interest from the US and from elsewhere, and said the government should be in a position to announce that on Monday.

Details of the sale are still secret but Clark says received at least $100 million for the planes.

She says there will have to be other costs coming off which could be close to $10 million.

[Samuel]

With any luck at all, she will cease to be PM WEF next Saturday night!

[BEagle]

If you succeed in ditching the bitch but she's flogged off your defensive capability before she's thrown out of office, presumably whoever takes over will have the task of trying to build it up again?

[Ex Douglas Driver]

The opposition initially said that they would reinstate an air combat capability if elected, but have since backed down a fair way and are now promising another defence review. They have commited to increasing defence spending "in light of the newly identified requirements" (whatever they may be?)

My read on the probable outcome of the review: It'll cost way too much to bring back a front line capability, so the status quo will remain.

New Zealand has so many other holes in defence procurement and capability upkeep that any extra money allocated will rapidly be absorbed into the operating budget.