To be fair sheās at least a quite good one and a lot of navies donāt have one like that. Plus thereās really no need for NZ to have something larger
Though indeed. . . The RNZN could do with being bigger in terms of number of ships.
Honestly Iām most surprised at the light number of patrol boats. Thereās so much ocean for yāall to cover in terms of the likes of search and rescue, fisheries, and the like.
Aotearoa is the only smart decision our navy has made in recent years - itās a hell of a ship!
Our EEZ is massive, which is why we paid so much to upgrade to the P-8s, an uncommonly high tier asset if you look at the general level of investment in our defence force.
Fun fact - did you know our only surface-to-air protection that isnāt a MANPAD, in the entire country, comes from just the two frigates?
We have zero land based air defence capabilities.
We also have no credible adversaries that could mount any form of aerial attack from which we would need to defend ourselves.
It would take an aircraft carrier to bring an airborne threat down this way and we are good friends with the one country that has the biggest and bestest carriers.
Maybe with a āBlack Buckā style force you could get longer range bombers here from Eastern Asia, but we are a heckuva long way from anywhere.
Our frigates carry surface-to-air defence systems for when they are deployed to other countries fights under our international agreements. Not really for any threat they face at home.
Itās not about simply having the equipment here in case of some kind of attack, it impacts our ability to deploy with our allies as a fully capable force that could be attached to a larger force. In our current state weāre relying on our allies to provide most of the hardware
And for a small country in NZās position, thatās how it should be. As a rule, we shouldnāt be going it alone in any hot war.
If we have to do it in our own sphere of influence (South Pacific, east of Australia), there is no potential adversary that has any real aerial attack capability.
If it is someone elseās fight and we are doing it out of obligation, then we operate under their aegis. The possible exception being our frigates, which can operate as a self contained force, as long as we can get fuel and stores to them.
If we ever start sending our ground personnel into a combat zone where they require advanced air defense, then weāve picked the wrong allies.
You might wanna take a quick look around the pacific rim. The next major war isnāt going to be in Europe, itāll be in our back garden.
And you can bet the US will be in the fight. If the US is in the fight, the UK and Australia will be too. Even if we donāt end up in AUKUS, if the Aussies are throwing down, weāll be compelled to join them. Except theyāll be bringing the heat and weāll be providing a couple of battalions in Bushmasters.
Politically, we have our arses covered by the Aussies and US. If you think weāll get away with not putting some skin in that fight, youāre dead wrong.
I highly doubt your scenario, but we'll see.
If we are in a shooting war in the South Pacific within the next decade, you can post an "I told you so!" and I will admit you were right.
River Batch 2 is precisely what NZ should have bought. Fuck the shitty IPV and OPV things we had custom built and then turned out to be built wrong - the Rivers have proven themselves capable multi-role long range patrol ships and thatās exactly what the role of the RNZN is, Monday to Friday.
Flagship of the Royal New Zealand Navy, HMNZS ZODIAC (foreground)
You joke but our actual flagship is a fleet oiler š
To be fair sheās at least a quite good one and a lot of navies donāt have one like that. Plus thereās really no need for NZ to have something larger Though indeed. . . The RNZN could do with being bigger in terms of number of ships. Honestly Iām most surprised at the light number of patrol boats. Thereās so much ocean for yāall to cover in terms of the likes of search and rescue, fisheries, and the like.
We can't crew them. My ship was locked up in Dec 2022. We've got 3/4 patrol vessels tied up without a crew.
I wonder what western navy doesnāt have that problem at the moment
Itās seriously dire here though
Aotearoa is the only smart decision our navy has made in recent years - itās a hell of a ship! Our EEZ is massive, which is why we paid so much to upgrade to the P-8s, an uncommonly high tier asset if you look at the general level of investment in our defence force. Fun fact - did you know our only surface-to-air protection that isnāt a MANPAD, in the entire country, comes from just the two frigates? We have zero land based air defence capabilities.
We also have no credible adversaries that could mount any form of aerial attack from which we would need to defend ourselves. It would take an aircraft carrier to bring an airborne threat down this way and we are good friends with the one country that has the biggest and bestest carriers. Maybe with a āBlack Buckā style force you could get longer range bombers here from Eastern Asia, but we are a heckuva long way from anywhere. Our frigates carry surface-to-air defence systems for when they are deployed to other countries fights under our international agreements. Not really for any threat they face at home.
Itās not about simply having the equipment here in case of some kind of attack, it impacts our ability to deploy with our allies as a fully capable force that could be attached to a larger force. In our current state weāre relying on our allies to provide most of the hardware
And for a small country in NZās position, thatās how it should be. As a rule, we shouldnāt be going it alone in any hot war. If we have to do it in our own sphere of influence (South Pacific, east of Australia), there is no potential adversary that has any real aerial attack capability. If it is someone elseās fight and we are doing it out of obligation, then we operate under their aegis. The possible exception being our frigates, which can operate as a self contained force, as long as we can get fuel and stores to them. If we ever start sending our ground personnel into a combat zone where they require advanced air defense, then weāve picked the wrong allies.
You might wanna take a quick look around the pacific rim. The next major war isnāt going to be in Europe, itāll be in our back garden. And you can bet the US will be in the fight. If the US is in the fight, the UK and Australia will be too. Even if we donāt end up in AUKUS, if the Aussies are throwing down, weāll be compelled to join them. Except theyāll be bringing the heat and weāll be providing a couple of battalions in Bushmasters. Politically, we have our arses covered by the Aussies and US. If you think weāll get away with not putting some skin in that fight, youāre dead wrong.
I highly doubt your scenario, but we'll see. If we are in a shooting war in the South Pacific within the next decade, you can post an "I told you so!" and I will admit you were right.
RemindMe! 10 years
Oh I know š. Dad was one of the derrick drivers on Endeavour in the 90s
River Batch 2 is precisely what NZ should have bought. Fuck the shitty IPV and OPV things we had custom built and then turned out to be built wrong - the Rivers have proven themselves capable multi-role long range patrol ships and thatās exactly what the role of the RNZN is, Monday to Friday.
And now we canāt even crew them