Post by corokid66 on Oct 15, 2010 23:25:15 GMT 12
With 3 types - A109, NH90, Seasprite, perhaps Defence/Govt don't want a 4th type.!
I think with most air arms, they would like to keep their type to a minimum to reduce costs and I asume it would be the same with the NZDF.
I think for a larger Air Force that is 100% true and maybe for the RNZAF/NZDF as well. However when it comes to a cost benefit analysis which examines total costs it is not always cost effective to apply a strict systematic rule. It can sometimes under certain circumstances lead to a false economy. For example the NH-90 is dramatically more expensive than a Huey II to operate p/h and to purchase. The LUH is what it says on the brochure - its a LUH. I still believe that there is a case for a cheap medium lift alternative to round out the numbers of the RNZAF over the next decade and a half. At least until we are in a more realistic position with fingers crossed to afford a NH-90 Squadron of a dozen TTH's.
Looking at the deficit report released this week something is going to have to give, when it comes to government spending across the board, and Defence is competing against other larger ministries that have powerful advocacy. Not to mention other vital projects within defence. It may well be that due to its very high costs the NH-90 will not see much of an increase - if at all over the next decade.
However, I'd argue that in certain roles that the NZDF requires and in fact needs to complete tasks at what might be called the mundane or unsexy end of the capability spectrum. I can't see no better cost effective option than the Huey II I'm afraid. We are talking around about USD$3.5m above the donor airframe. It is the only realistic low cost solution to supplement the NH-90 fleet. I would argue that a handful of Huey II's would actually sustain and protect them, the NH-90's, from not being thrashed (Which is a false economy in itself). Some of the other cheaper options to enhance the medium lift capability are know doubt great aircraft, but they are all well into the USD$20m+ range to acquire and from what I understand are inherently more sophisticated and again more costly to operate per hour. Those tasks that the NZDF completes doesn't reallly need a sophisticated rotary aircraft all of the time - and it would be in fact counter productive fiscallly to use a sophisticated aircraft in some roles or indeed think the LUH will by itself be the capability gap fuller. The LUH and the NH-90 can still do what they are very good at doing. Though with only 8 NH-90's we may find ourselves which operational shortfalls. Four maybe deployed, two maybe being overhauled, leaving two to be available under some form of operational urgency that may crop up at an inconvenient moment. Those two may need to be deployed to any number of events in the South Pacific region and maybe required for months. Lastly if their were around six Huey II's introduced as replacements for when the old Hueys are finally retired, it may be more likely that the RNZAF does indeed get more NH-90 airframes down the track as we would have demostrated that having only 8 meduim lift helicopters was obviously not enough.
Cheers.