New Zealand eyes cargo planes, helicopters, Javelins in new budget

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s 2025 Budget, released this week, is slated to bring defense spending to NZ$4.2 billion (US$2.4 bn), Defence Minister Judith Collins announced.

“To achieve this, the government has allocated $2.7 billion of capital and $563 million of operating funding for priority projects identified in the Defence Capability Plan we released last month ,” she said.

Spending priorities include replacing the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s only strategic airlifters, two Boeing 757s-2K2, acquired second-hand in 2003 and updated in 2007.

Replacing the fleet of eight Seasprite SH-2G(I) maritime helicopters is also on the docket. Operated since 2015, only five remain operational, with three now used for parts as they near the end of their service life, Collins recently stated.

Also on the shopping list: New versions of the Javelin anti-armor missile, encrypted radios to provide deployed Army units with secure voice communication, and a counter-drone system.

Officials also want to upgrade Devonport Naval Base, invest in homes for defense families, modernize the defense vehicle fleet and grow digital and information management projects.

The Ministry of Defence, with roughly 200 staff, receives nearly $26 million.

New Zealand’s defense spending is scheduled to reach 2% of GDP by 2032/33. That level of military spending was last achieved in 1982.

Nick Lee-Frampton is the New Zealand correspondent for Defense News.

新西兰惠灵顿——新西兰国防部长朱迪思·柯林斯宣布，本周公布的2025年新西兰预算将把国防开支提高到42亿新西兰元（24亿美元）。

“为了实现这一目标，政府已拨款 27 亿美元资本金和 5.63 亿美元运营资金，用于我们上个月发布的《国防能力计划》中确定的优先项目，”她说。

支出重点包括更换新西兰皇家空军仅有的两架战略运输机——波音757-2K2，这两架飞机于2003年以二手形式购入，并于2007年进行了升级。

替换现有的八架“海妖”SH-2G(I)海上直升机也已提上日程。柯林斯公司近期表示，这些直升机自2015年开始服役，目前仅剩五架仍在服役，另有三架因接近使用寿命终点而被拆解用于零部件。

采购清单上还有：新版本的标枪反装甲导弹、为部署的陆军部队提供安全语音通信的加密无线电以及反无人机系统。

官员们还希望升级德文波特海军基地，投资建设军属住房，更新国防车辆，并发展数字化和信息管理项目。

国防部约有 200 名员工，预算近 2600 万美元。

新西兰的国防开支计划在2032/33财年达到国内生产总值的2%。上一次达到如此高的军费开支水平是在1982年。

Nick Lee-Frampton 是《国防新闻》驻新西兰记者。