The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) welcomed the third of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to RNZAF Base Ohakea, near Palmerston North in the Manawatu, on May 19.
The aircraft (serial NZ4803) arrived in New Zealand after completing a long delivery flight from Boeing’s production facility at King County International Airport (otherwise known as Boeing Field) in Seattle, Washington. This delivery comes after the RNZAF formally retired its ageing fleet of six Lockheed P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol aircraft on January 31 after more than 55 years of service. It also follows the delivery of the first two P-8As to New Zealand; the first of which (serial NZ4801) arrived at Ohakea on December 12, 2022, before being joined by the second (serial NZ4802) on March 20.
The fourth and final P-8A (presumably serial NZ4804) is due to arrive in New Zealand this summer, just as the fleet is scheduled to achieve initial operational capability (IOC) with the type – a move which will plug the maritime patrol capability gap that was created with the expedited retirement of the P-3K2 fleet in January. In RNZAF service, the P-8As will be operated by No 5 Squadron – the same unit that employed the Orion – conducting a variety of missions that range from aerial surveillance and maritime patrol taskings across New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone and South Pacific region to search-and-rescue (SAR) and humanitarian assistance/disaster response (HA/DR) operations.
