![\"MH-60R\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/MH-60R-2-678x381.jpg\" "\\"MH-60R-2\\"\/")
\nMH-60R. Image: Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n
\nMH-60R. Image: Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n
New Zealand Defence has just procured a capability in insufficient numbers due to budget constraints, and this leaves the NZDF with little resilience, writes Graeme Doull.<\/p>\n
The decision to acquire the MH-60R Seahawk to replace the RNZN\u2019s aging Seasprite helicopters is, on face value, a sound one. It aligns New Zealand with Australia, strengthens interoperability with our only ally, and provides the Navy with a proven and capable platform.<\/p>\n
The question, however, is not what we bought\u2014but how many. How did we end up with only five aircraft? This number appears unsustainable and provides little resilience.<\/p>\n
The Defence Capability Plan (DCP) rightly emphasises that New Zealand should procure the same equipment as Australia wherever possible. I support this principle. Interoperability with the ADF is critical.<\/p>\n
But in my view, there should be two exceptions.<\/p>\n
First, in some cases, complementary rather than identical capabilities may provide greater utility. For example, lighter armoured vehicles might better suit Pacific operations than the heavier vehicles in the Australian inventory.<\/p>\n
Second, there are instances where New Zealand can\u2019t get a good deal, or where we simply cannot afford to sustain the capability at the same level. It is these issues \u2014 price and value \u2014 that deserves closer examination.<\/p>\n
If New Zealand is to adopt the same platforms as Australia, we should expect to buy at the same price and under comparable terms. The only way to ensure this, is to overcome the tired excuse of \u201ccommercial sensitivity\u201d and insist on adopting Australian procurement agreements, with only minor modifications for jurisdictional or operational differences.<\/p>\n
When we publicly signal an intent to buy the same equipment as Australia we risk weakening our negotiating position. Without competitive tension, we could become price takers\u2014entirely dependent on vendor goodwill.<\/p>\n
Australia has both scale and capacity. They run competitive tenders that drive down price and create value. New Zealand should leverage their process by using the already agreed access to combined procurement, to use the agreements that Australia has already secured.<\/p>\n
For vendors, this is efficient and cost-effective \u2013 as this streamlines the procurement process. For us, it ensures compatibility and a fair price.<\/p>\n
There are only two parties to the procurement process, and the corresponding commercial sensitivity. Australia has already agreed to combined procurement with us, if a supplier refuses to disclose the Australian terms, under the guise of \u201ccommercial sensitivity,\u201d it should serve as a clear warning: they are not committed to delivering value to the NZDF and we should look elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Even with best-practice procurement, with effective direct negotiation based on the ADF contracts, there are times when New Zealand simply cannot afford the same per unit cost as Australia. We need to face reality.\u00a0 Sometimes the budget is the budget.<\/p>\n
Historically Defence has been guilty of buying as many units as the budget allows, regardless of whether the number procured is sustainable, or needed: 105 NZLAVs purchased to match the funding envelope rather than any operational requirement; two ANZAC frigates when three or four were needed; and now, it appears, five Seahawks when eight would have been more appropriate.<\/p>\n
This is a flawed approach. Buying fewer units to fit a budget leads to orphaned capabilities \u2014 platforms that cannot be sustained, and fleets that lack resilience.\u00a0 Instead, we must be intentional. If we cannot afford the required number of platforms, the options are simple: either increase funding or reduce per-unit cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That might mean accepting lower-specification variants or choosing alternative platforms altogether.\u00a0 We should avoid the classic \u2018fitted for but not with\u2019 NZDF solution where bolt-on capabilities are intended to be added later \u2014 this approach results in critical gaps in the professional development of service personnel, especially from an ongoing maintenance sustainment perspective.<\/p>\n
The decision to adopt Australian equipment is sensible and pragmatic. But to extract value from this strategy, we must leverage Australian procurement processes and insist on cost parity.<\/p>\n
When budgets fall short, we must make deliberate choices \u2014 either find more funding or lower specifications \u2014 to ensure we buy enough units to be viable.<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t in the room when the decision to acquire only five Seahawks was made, and I am unable to offer an informed view on the price. The deal may have been fantastic. But from the outside, it appears to be yet another example of New Zealand Defence procuring a capability in insufficient numbers due to budget constraints.<\/p>\n
The result is predictable: a warm feeling from a targeted capability being delivered but it exposes the cold reality \u2013 a lack of resilience in the NZDF.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MH-60R. Image: Lockheed Martin. New Zealand Defence has just procured a capability in insufficient numbers due to budget…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[27511,27512,27513,27514,27515,111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-27699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-government-procurement","9":"tag-graeme-doull","10":"tag-helicopters","11":"tag-maritime-helicopter-replacement","12":"tag-mh-60r","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}