The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Rob Griffith/Pool
The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Rob Griffith/Pool REUTERS/Rob Griffith/Pool

The New Zealand Defence Force may soon acquire at least two or four C-17s to replace its ageing C-130 Hercules fleet and Boeing 757 transport aircraft. Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has reportedly requested a price quote for the massive Boeing C-17 Globemaster at the suggested cost per unit of $400 million.

According to Stuff.co, New Zealand First defence spokesperson Ron Mark has blasted the idea of replacing the Hercules fleet with the more expensive aircraft. He said there was "no way" the government could justify $2 billion to be spent on replacing New Zealand's Hercules fleet. Mark had assumed that each of New Zealand's five Hercules aircraft will be replaced with a new unit. Previous reports have noted that the C-17 aircraft has more space to carry a payload of more than four and a half times of Hercules.

Flightglobal reported that an "undisclosed customer" had placed an order for two of the 10 "white tail" C-17s Boeing under construction. Australia had publicly requested to purchase four of the planes in November as stated in the U.S. Defence Security Cooperation Acquisition notification. Boeing will be closing its C-17 production line in 2015.

In New Zealand's Defence Capability Plan released in June 2014, the defence department has identified a requirement to replace its fleet of C-130 Hercules and 757s in an effort to maintain the country's current range of capabilities. This is in line with the military's plan to continue providing strategic and tactical support for people and cargo including both low and high level missions, medical support and search and rescue capabilities, Australian Aviation reported.

Aside from a planned replacement of its Hercules fleet, the Royal New Zealand Air Force is also considering an upgrade on its six P-3K-2 Orions to gain improved underwater ISR capability in tracking and detecting underwater objects. According to the Defence Capability Plan, the project will complement the Missions Systems Upgrade focused on land and water capabilities.

The Royal Australian Air Force already owns and operates six C-17As while the UK has eight units. NATO-led Strategic Airlift Capability consortium owns three units with India having the largest C-17 fleet outside of the U.S. with its order of 10 C-17As.

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