New Zealand launches long-range UAV acquisition programme

The Insitu Integrator UAV is operated by the Australian Army and has a stated endurance of 27.5 hours. (Gordon Arthur)

New Zealand has launched a programme to acquire a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of conducting surveillance missions over land and sea.

In a project entitled Persistent Surveillance (Air) Phase 1, a request for information (RfI) issued on 30 July sought solutions to provide maritime domain awareness around New Zealand.

The new UAVs will supplement four P-8A Poseidon aircraft and several King Air platforms in the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) role.

The commercially owned and commercially operated (COCO) UAVs, with no quantity specified in the RfI, will be available for tasking on an average of five days a week, although the anticipated operational tempo is two missions per week. This could require two aircraft to be available simultaneously.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) identified three mission types. The first is wide-area maritime domain awareness out to 1,400 n miles, including the search, detection, identification, monitoring, and reporting of maritime contacts.

The second involves conducting cued maritime contact missions such as shadowing targets in smaller areas. The third is coastal and overland ISR to capture imagery and video of targets down to the level of motor vehicles and individuals.

COCO vendors must offer a platform capable of flying up to 1,400 n miles from the main operating base at Ohakea Air Base and remaining on station for six hours before returning. A second representative mission entails a 600 n mile transit, also with six hours on station. Overall, the UAVs must have a minimum airborne endurance of 24 hours.

There may also be an occasional requirement for the UAVs to operate from a forward base in the Pacific.