Post by exkiwiforces on Dec 8, 2014 20:22:47 GMT 12
From the Janes Defence Website the other week.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has received four Beechcraft T-6C Texan II trainers and three more are en route, officers told IHS Jane's on 20 November.
Wing Commander Chris Andrews, director of operations at 488 Wing, said the final four would arrive by mid-2015 to fulfil a contract signed in January. In December, the Pilot Training Squadron will transform into No. 14 Squadron to operate the new trainers.
"We've been generally impressed with the rate of production. … It's been a fantastic project about how smoothly and quickly it has run," said Flight Lieutenant Dan Pezaro, one of the first Kiwi T-6C instructors. The 11 aircraft will replace 12 leased Pacific Aerospace CT-4E trainers.
Beechcraft Defense is providing the complete Pilot Training Capability, and the first Wings Course will start in January 2016. In the interim, additional Central Flying School instructors will qualify on the T-6C and standard operating procedures will be updated.
Meanwhile, at Linton Military Camp, Colonel Nicholas Gillard updated IHS Jane's on developments within the New Zealand Army's 1 (NZ) Brigade. The brigade, established in December 2011, features three units each with their own manoeuvre headquarters. The commander said this allowed the army to introduce a three-year operational readiness cycle (units rotate through contingency, campaigning, and reconstitution phases), mirroring that of the Australian Army.
The brigade continues to implement its "hugely successful" pilot Tactical Area Network Enablement (TANE) command-and-control system utilising commercial off-the-shelf technology, Col Gillard said. TANE began in 2012, and the homegrown system will help inform next year's Tranche 1 of the Network-Enabled Army programme. "We'll build on TANE innovation done at a relatively low level within 1 Brigade to make it more operationally viable," Col Gillard said.
Another New Zealand Defence Force development is the establishment of joint enablers across the three services. The first is a Joint Policing Unit that will stand up at the end of November, with joint health, joint intelligence, and possibly joint logistics units to come later.
Regarding the goal of achieving a Joint Amphibious Task Force by 2015, Col Gillard said: "From a 1 Brigade perspective, we're where we want to be. …There's progression and improvement."
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has received four Beechcraft T-6C Texan II trainers and three more are en route, officers told IHS Jane's on 20 November.
Wing Commander Chris Andrews, director of operations at 488 Wing, said the final four would arrive by mid-2015 to fulfil a contract signed in January. In December, the Pilot Training Squadron will transform into No. 14 Squadron to operate the new trainers.
"We've been generally impressed with the rate of production. … It's been a fantastic project about how smoothly and quickly it has run," said Flight Lieutenant Dan Pezaro, one of the first Kiwi T-6C instructors. The 11 aircraft will replace 12 leased Pacific Aerospace CT-4E trainers.
Beechcraft Defense is providing the complete Pilot Training Capability, and the first Wings Course will start in January 2016. In the interim, additional Central Flying School instructors will qualify on the T-6C and standard operating procedures will be updated.
Meanwhile, at Linton Military Camp, Colonel Nicholas Gillard updated IHS Jane's on developments within the New Zealand Army's 1 (NZ) Brigade. The brigade, established in December 2011, features three units each with their own manoeuvre headquarters. The commander said this allowed the army to introduce a three-year operational readiness cycle (units rotate through contingency, campaigning, and reconstitution phases), mirroring that of the Australian Army.
The brigade continues to implement its "hugely successful" pilot Tactical Area Network Enablement (TANE) command-and-control system utilising commercial off-the-shelf technology, Col Gillard said. TANE began in 2012, and the homegrown system will help inform next year's Tranche 1 of the Network-Enabled Army programme. "We'll build on TANE innovation done at a relatively low level within 1 Brigade to make it more operationally viable," Col Gillard said.
Another New Zealand Defence Force development is the establishment of joint enablers across the three services. The first is a Joint Policing Unit that will stand up at the end of November, with joint health, joint intelligence, and possibly joint logistics units to come later.
Regarding the goal of achieving a Joint Amphibious Task Force by 2015, Col Gillard said: "From a 1 Brigade perspective, we're where we want to be. …There's progression and improvement."