Wikiposts
Search
Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific Airline and RPT Rumours & News in Australia, enZed and the Pacific

RNZAF jets sold!!

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 11th Sep 2005, 11:59
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: NZL
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Unhappy RNZAF jets sold!!

Tis election year and the Nats said, aside from Nuke ships here before lunch, that the RNZAF jets would be back in the skies. Not now as Labour's just sold'em! To whom though??

@

The government says it has done a deal on our Air Force fighter jet fleets.


It has been trying to sell the 34 planes for about four years, and yesterday Defence Minister Mark Burton confirmed a heads of agreement had been signed.


Mark Burton says the price being offered for the Skyhawk and Aermacchi trainer fleets is upwards of $100 million dollars.


He could not go into details, but says it is a fair price and the return will be satisfactory.


He says while the government would have liked to bring the deal to a conclusion sooner, he is pleased with the outcome.


Mark Burton says the proposal will go to Cabinet tomorrow as a late paper for consideration.


He says it is satisfying to have the matter dealt with, and from an Air Force point of view the proceeds will be a welcome addition to the coffers.


Mark Burton doubts this development will hold any sway at the polling booths.


He hopes to be able to reveal the final details later in the week.

Vmo248 is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 13:09
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Seat 1A
Posts: 8,551
Received 73 Likes on 42 Posts
"Jets"?? You mean Electric Rats and Hoovers...
Capn Bloggs is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 14:00
  #3 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Here and there
Posts: 3,099
Received 14 Likes on 11 Posts
Electric Rat? Hoover?

The A4 Skyhawk is an awesome machine. I'd love to have a fly of one.
AerocatS2A is online now  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 14:52
  #4 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Boldly going where no split infinitive has gone before..
Posts: 4,785
Received 44 Likes on 20 Posts
$100 Mill for 34 clapped out Skyhawks and Macchis? Average of $3mill/ airframe???

Who's the buyer? I have a coat-hanger shaped bridge they might be interested in....
Wizofoz is online now  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 18:18
  #5 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 1,219
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You sure they are getting money and not palm oil?
Pass-A-Frozo is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 19:00
  #6 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Back again.
Posts: 1,140
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Maybe $1M in cash payments over 25 years and $99M in trade concessions and 'promises' over the same time period amounting to a grand total of about $1M in today's money. What for? airframes, engines, spares, jigs, tools, weapons, support vehicles, instrumentation, test equipment, chocks, etc., all delivered to buyer's location at seller's expense. The still flyable A4s might be useful for target practice.

Cynical? You betcha!

Last edited by Lodown; 11th Sep 2005 at 19:15.
Lodown is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 22:44
  #7 (permalink)  
MOR
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Euroland
Posts: 959
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Come now, that is a primo strike wing you are talking about! Proven technology (well proven to be old and slow), great spares package (all the old bits from the ones they crashed, suitably straightened), and a guarantee (guaranteed to be cannon fodder for anybody with a 172 and a shotgun).

Why oh why didn't we buy the F16s... now there is an aircraft worth having a go in...

What they should have done with the Skyhawks is what they used to do with old obsolete types... take the weapons out and park them in kids playgrounds. I spent many happy hours as a kid, crawling through an old TBM Avenger in a park in Rotorua. Might as well get some play value out of them.
MOR is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 22:56
  #8 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 590
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well if we are keen to know who purchased these aircraft it should be a matter for public record.

Perhaps the opposition leader will insist on some details.
TIMMEEEE is offline  
Old 11th Sep 2005, 23:05
  #9 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Seat 1A
Posts: 8,551
Received 73 Likes on 42 Posts
What they should have done with the Skyhawks is
sold them to the Royal Aussie Navy so they could put them on a carrier...
Capn Bloggs is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 02:29
  #10 (permalink)  
CT7
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Anywhere I want
Posts: 327
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Interesting how it was released on a Sunday morning...... anybody trying to hide something??

MOR..
you probably played on the old Matilda tank as well then..?
That TBM went to MOTAT I think.
CT7 is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 02:45
  #11 (permalink)  
Silly Old Git
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: saiba spes
Posts: 3,726
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Non approved kids playground equipment shard edges etc = LAWYERS!
Tin as a lad shot down quite a few Zeros using the P-40s and Corsairs parked on Rukuhia.

Did the Te Rahu Avenger get good home?
tinpis is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 06:37
  #12 (permalink)  
Keg

Nunc est bibendum
 
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 5,583
Received 11 Likes on 2 Posts
I would have thought that with an election looming that the NZ government would be in 'caretaker' mode and not making decisions such as this one?!?!?
Keg is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 06:58
  #13 (permalink)  
Kiwi PPRuNer
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: rockingham, western australia
Age: 42
Posts: 406
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
na helen wants them sold on the quick so shes got another 100 million to bribe the bludgers with (to go with the 500 or so million shes pulled out of thin air in the past month)
ZK-NSJ is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 07:29
  #14 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: At my computer
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Sold To ATSI according to stuff.co.nz $155 million and 35mil of that is to get em airworthy again !!
Don't know why they would buy the Macchis, they were only interested in the A4s....
NZDP is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 07:46
  #15 (permalink)  
MOR
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Euroland
Posts: 959
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
CT7

Yes I have photos of mself commanding both the tank and the TBM (as well as doing a little wing-walking on the TBM).

Tin is right about lawyers... sadly.
MOR is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 11:08
  #16 (permalink)  
gsf
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: ni
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
NZDP: No mention of ASTI in Stuff that I could see, all news outlets are reporting what the government has said, namely that all the aircraft have been sold to Tactical Air Services.

Who are they ?
gsf is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 14:36
  #17 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: with the porangi,s in Pohara
Age: 66
Posts: 983
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
another piss-poor decision by the Nats.......as usual,lets pass the buck and make everybody else responsible for our pacific duties...bloody wankers.... what will it take to make our govt realise that in this "global" world that we have to front up occasionally and do our part...not asking a lot really
pakeha-boy is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 15:54
  #18 (permalink)  
MOR
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Euroland
Posts: 959
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
What's it got to do with the Nats exactly...???

Hasn't news of the last two elections reached Porirua yet...??? Or can't you tell the difference between red and blue?
MOR is offline  
Old 12th Sep 2005, 22:41
  #19 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Half Truths

This is from Mark Burton's, (the Minister of Defence) press release page. http://labour.org.nz/labour_team/mps...lus/index.html

Were they ever involved in active service?

No

Why did the Government decide they were no longer required?

The Government Defence Statement of 2001 called for a “refocused and updated Air Force”:
"The recently completed review of the options for an air combat capability confirmed the finding of the 1998 Air Combat Review chaired by Sir Wilson Whineray that the air combat force equipped with the A-4 Skyhawk in its current state would be a marginal asset to any multinational coalition, and its operational utility will continue to decline. Retaining a force that has never been, and is unlikely ever to be, used would require in excess of one billion dollars in capital expenditure and increases in the NZDF's operating baseline over the next 10 years in the region of $1.2 billion. That is unsustainable” – the Government Defence Statement 2001
A great case of only telling half the truth.

Firstly, separate the selling of the Skyhawk from the overall disbandment of the Air Combat Force.

I partially agree that the A-4 was no longer a modern front line fighter/attack aircraft, but it was effective when compared to regional threats - in the short term. Getting rid of the Skyhawks is/was not the big issue, but it was an easy way out.

Here's what the Whineray review said about the requirement for an Air Combat Force:
The Whineray Review in 1998 concluded that the air combat capability had high policy value in protecting and promoting New Zealand’s local, regional and global security interests. It was considered to be fundamental to demonstrate that New Zealand is serious about its own defence, and to send a clear message about our commitment to broader security.
Labour's own Derek Quigley recommended in 2000 that the F-16 lease agreement be continued (albeit at reduced numbers), a study that was overridden by the Prime Minister.
http://www.executive.govt.nz/f16/rev...ecommendations

Here's what the NZ Ministry of Defence had to say in conclusion in 2001:
Retaining a reduced air combat capability would balance the strategic and foreign policy risks of eliminating the capability with the financial risks of maintaining air combat as part of the NZDF structure.

Elimination of the air combat force entirely carries strategic, foreign policy and military operational risks.
Ex Douglas Driver is offline  
Old 13th Sep 2005, 00:13
  #20 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: At my computer
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
gsf:

NZDP: No mention of ASTI in Stuff that I could see, all news outlets are reporting what the government has said, namely that all the aircraft have been sold to Tactical Air Services.
Part of ATSI

http://www.atsifightertraining.com/tactical.html
NZDP is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.