Air Force to tender for replacements

Press, 15 April 1988, Page 3

Air Force to tender for replacements

By

DAVE WILSON

I The Minister of fence, 1 Mr Tizard, has authorised the Royal New Zealand Air Force to call tenders for up to 18 aclvanceld training aircraft |o replace the Air Force's ailing! Strikemasters. j The i tender approval was announced yesterday. The R.N.Z.A.F. public relations officer, Flying Officer Peter Northcote, said I tender documents would be released withjn six weeks. The R.N.Z.A.F. hoped jto evaluate tenders, and recommend an aircraft choice to the Government by the end of the year! The tender would be world-wide and the aircraft package could cost between $6O million apd $l7Ol million, depending on the! type chosen, he said; \ Fatigue cracks in the 115 Strikemasters forced the Government to announce last | year the aircraft’s phased! withdrawal frdm R.NjZ.A.F. service. I The I British-made Strikemasters, which entered service in 1972,

will be withdrawn from the advanced flying training role in 1990 and from the strike | transition role (the conversion, to Skyhawks)! about five years later. At the time of the withdrawal announcement, the Government stated a preference for the Strikemasters to be replaced in both roles by a! single aircraft type. I Although the Government expressed an interest in ; the Australian PC9 turboprop trainer, an Air Force evaluation team which considered seven aircraft types during a study tour last year concluded that the R.N.Z.A.F. should stay with jet aircraft in ! the advanced training role. R.N.Z.A.F. sources said it was significant that the approval to call tenders did not specify any particular engine system. The sources said this gave the I Air Force the opportunity to- evaluate every option in training aircraft. | One manufacturer has already expressed a keen interest in

the replacement package. Aermacchi, whose MB--339C jet trainer impressed the evaluation team, has already conducted some gentle lobbying, but Flying Officer Northcote said any such expressions of interest carried no weight in the tender process. “It will be an open and competitive tender, open to any manufacturer in the world.” Within the R.N.Z.A.F. there was also relief that the Minister had authorised tenders for a maximum of 18 replacement aircraft, three more than the existing Strikemaster fleet. Senior Air Force sources have said the replacement aircraft needs to be capable of economic serviceability and maintenance | throughout its lifespan, and that to achieve its training task the R.N.Z.A.F. would need up to 18 new planes, capable of remaining in service for 20 to 25 years. It must also be already proved and in production because first deliveries would be needed by 1990.