A ceremony hosted by the Hon Judith Collins KC, New Zealand’s Defence Minister, marked the official opening for the No. 5 Squadron of their new Hangar and Mission Building giving the P8-A a permanent home.
After proudly supporting the introduction into service for all four P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft on New Zealand shores, our team was on-hand to mark the occasion for the NZDF.
The Nova team has been embedded into the Manataū Kaupapa Waonga: NZ Defence’s Integrated Project Team, supporting the Test and Evaluation program working alongside the operating squadron within the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), working with the Defence Aviation Authority and other NZDF units on Design Acceptance, Logistics and Continuing Airworthiness and Capability Integration.
“Nova Systems has been proud to play an essential role in the staged capability release, navigating aircraft certification, airworthiness and Capability release processes as the first aircraft to be evaluated against the NZDF’s new airworthiness regulatory framework,” said Peter Johnson, Nova Systems New Zealand Director Aerospace and Capability Integration Lead.
"Congratulations to the RNZAF and the NZDF on yet another milestone achieved on the P8-A.”
The P8-A Poseidon provides an incredible depth of capability for New Zealand and our work in New Zealand highlights our global offering and expertise working on the P8 platform, in Australia, where RNZAF personnel trained as part of bringing this capability online in NZ – just another example of the trans-Tasman cooperation in full effect.
Image courtesy of NZDF.