New Zealand Approves $1.6 Billion Military Spending Package

New Zealand's government has confirmed a huge, $1.6 billion military spending package that will include the purchase of helicopters from the United States.

New Zealand, a country with few enemies and many friends, has not been the most military-focused in recent years. The country remains around 1,000 miles away from its closest major neighbor, Australia, and is primarily surrounded by the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, military capabilities of countries across the world have increased over the past few years, meaning that the safety provided by their lack of proximity to other nations continues to dwindle.

Furthermore, the country has experienced several military failures due to aging equipment, leading to embarrassing situations for leaders and ministers. New Zealand's fleet is currently quite old, and many of their aircraft are in desperate need of replacements. As of right now, the military operates two Boeing 757s that are over 30 years old and were already secondhand when bought– in fact, the planes are so old that they have broken down several times, stranding major leaders and forcing them to take commercial flights.

On these grounds, New Zealand finally approved an increase in defense spending, with the official release of the plan coming earlier this year in April. They confirmed that they would double their defense spending, raising it from 1% of GDP to 2% over the next 10 years, in addition to spending over NZ $9 billion ($5.2 billion) on defense in the next four years.

As part of the new deal, New Zealand will spend around NZ $700 million to acquire two Airbus A321XLRs, a long-range commercial jet with a range of around 5,400 miles. Additionally, to upgrade their rapidly aging helicopter fleet, New Zealand will spend NZ $2 billion to purchase five new MH-60R Seahawk helicopters from the United States. Each helicopter is also equipped with torpedoes and missiles, increasing their defense capabilities.

However, New Zealand officials have confirmed that it could take several years to obtain the helicopters, as a large line of countries are looking to purchase the model, including India and Australia. Meanwhile, the planes are scheduled to be delivered in 2028.

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Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): One must be a sea, to receive a polluted stream without becoming impure. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

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In a Sentence: The company’s claims about its latest product are yet to be validated.

Image credit to Lockheed Martin