Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is to upgrade the strike capabilities of its planned force of 28 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 15 fighters with pod-based ECM jamming and laser target designation systems.
The office of New Zealand defence minister Max Bradford has confirmed that a range of unspecified pod-based designation and sensor systems are under assessment as part of a package being negotiated with the US Department of Defense (DoD).
This follows DoD advice to the US Congress on 26 April indicating that New Zealand had asked for options on 12 Rafael-Northrop Litening II designation/navigation pods and 12 Northrop Grumman ALQ-131 Block II ECM pods as part of the package. The RNZAF is also thought to be looking at various Lockheed Martin designation systems.
The New Zealand defence minister's spokesman said on 29 April that the RNZAF was assessing different types of [designation and jamming] pods from different manufacturers and how they may fit in with long-term requirements.
"If we had kept our McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, we were going to look for an extensive upgrade," said the spokesman. "We were looking at laser designation pods, all sorts of bolt-on extras. All that money has now been rolled into the F-16 project."
New Zealand has also ruled out any switch in acquisition strategy for the deal, rejecting suggestions from the US DoD that New Zealand was intending to undertake an outright Foreign Military Sales programme at an all-up cost of $397 million.
"The deal is that we are leasing over two five-year periods," says Bradford's spokesman. "Leasing with an option to buy. We may or may not exercise that option at the end of the single lease period."
New Zealand announced plans to lease F-16s at the end of 1998 as a replacement for its ageing A-4K and TA-4K Skyhawks. The RNZAF had originally planned to keep the A4s in service until at least 2010.
The deal now being negotiated involves the reactivation of 28 F-16 Block 15 aircraft originally built for Pakistan but never delivered. The aircraft are currently stored in Arizona. First deliveries are scheduled for March 2001, and Lockheed Martin will perform the reactivation work.
The FMS notification to Congress on 26 April included a requirement for 28 F-100-PW-200E engines, plus logistics and spares support. New Zealand is seeking to finalise a lease arrangement within the next four months.
According to the New Zealand Ministry of Defence, it has no plans to retain the A4s in service alongside the F-16s. "That is probably unlikely. We will more than likely look at disposing of the Skyhawks and introducing the F-16s around the same time."
The MoD has plans in place for a competition next year for new air-to-ground weapons for the F-16s. Acknowledged contenders include the Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition. The project is yet to receive government funding approvals, however.
A separate competition for a new air-launched anti-shipping missile, to replace the AGM-65 Maverick, is working towards government funding approvals in 2003, while a replacement air-to-air missile project is planned for 2006-7.
Source: Flight International
