Reports and Publications

• Air Combat Review
  • Contents
  • Summary
  • Introduction
  • The Setting for the Review
  • The Air Combat Force
  • Description of the Options
  • The Strategic and Foreign Policy Implications
  • Military Operational Implications
  • Financial Implications
  • Conclusions
  • Annex A – Defence Policy Objectives
  • Annex B – Costing Assumptions
  • Glossary

Within this section

• Background
• Structure of the Review
• Scope of Analysis
• Assessment Measures

Review of the Options for an Air Combat Capability
(February 2001)

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Introduction

Background

1. The Government’s Defence Policy Framework (DPF) states that to meet the Government’s defence policy objectives the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) must be able to offer an adequate range of capabilities which are fiscally sustainable.¹ The DPF also expressed the view that NZDF resources are spread thinly across a range of capabilities, not all of which can be sustained. The Government has therefore directed that a series of capability reviews be undertaken from which a re-prioritised long-term capital equipment plan will be developed. Reviews of land forces and sealift have been completed and a review of maritime patrol will be completed by 28 February 2001.
2. In its 1999 report on the Inquiry Into Defence Beyond 2000, the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee of Parliament questioned the value to New Zealand of the air combat force and recommended that the Government reconsider its place in the NZDF force structure. In his independent review of the lease of F-16 aircraft to replace the A-4 Skyhawks², the Hon. Derek Quigley recommended as a matter of urgency that all defence projects be reviewed with a view to prioritising and funding them on the basis of their capacity – judged from an NZDF-wide perspective – to advance New Zealand’s national interests.
3. It is within this context that the Prime Minister asked the Chief Executive, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, for advice on the options for the air combat force. In response to this direction, this review assesses and reports on the strategic, military operational, foreign policy and financial consequences, over Defence’s 10-year planning horizon, associated with three broad options:
   • Retention of the air combat force at the current level of capability;
   • Retention of a reduced air combat capability, involving a smaller operational force and/or outsourcing flying training associated with the air combat function; and
   • Disbanding the air combat force.

Structure of the Review

4. This paper will set out the context for the evaluation of the air combat force by reviewing the strategic and financial setting in which the decision is to be made. The current air combat force is briefly reviewed in terms of structure, roles, current capability and contribution to current policy.

Scope of Analysis

5. The air combat capability has been the subject of a number of reviews in recent years. These include:
   • 1992   Review of New Zealand’s Combat Air Power Requirements
   • 1993   Combat Air Enhancement Study
   • 1998   Air Combat Capability Policy Study (Whineray Review)
   • 1998   Australian/New Zealand Augmentation Studies
   • 1998   MOD Evaluation of NZDF Output 11 – Air Attack Force
   • 1999   Defence Beyond 2000 Inquiry
   • 2000   Review of F-16 Lease (Quigley Review)

   This report is based largely on that material, using updated data where appropriate.

6. The review will consider air combat as a military capability. A capability consists of more than just the aircraft by itself. It also includes the weapons and other systems fitted to the airframe; personnel, both air and ground crew; maintenance, logistic and administrative support, including infrastructure costs; and the associated command and control and training overheads directly related to the existence of the air combat force.

Assessment Measures

7. Judgments about the options presented in this review should look at the utility of the air combat force using four key measures:
   • Strategic – how important is the capability in meeting the objectives of the Government’s Defence Policy Framework?
   • Foreign Policy – how important is the capability in securing benefit for New Zealand through enhancing our international relations, particularly with our closest defence partners?
   • Operational – how important is the capability in providing the NZDF with the capacity to meet the requirements of the Government’s Defence Policy Framework? and
   • Financial – what are the costs of the capability and how does this fit within the Government’s financial setting?

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1. The defence policy objectives are set out at Annex A.
2. Review of the lease of F-16 aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 6 March, 2000.

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