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Singapore Air Force flies in to Ohakea for flying training
Last updated 10:09, August 2 2017
Singapore pilots will wing their way to Ohakea for training as top-level talks continue about the Asian nation setting up a permanent Air Force base in New Zealand.
It was announced at the Ohakea Air Tattoo in February that Singapore officials were in talks with the New Zealand Government about the idea.
A New Zealand Defence Force spokesman said at the end of August,
F16 fighter aircraft would visit Ohakea for three weeks for flying training.
Should Ohakea become a permanent training base for the Singapore Air Foce,
an F15 fighter would be based there.
Discussions around the Singapore Air Force having a presence at Ohakea were continuing and the spokesman said this month's exercise was a useful opportunity to consider how the permanent-base proposal might work.
The Minister of Defence Mark Mitchell said the idea would be fantastic for the region, but it was early days.
Mitchell said New Zealand had a long-standing relationship with Singapore and there was strong commitment form both sides about the arrangement.
"At the moment it's just going through a process. It's a feasibility study."
About 200 serving Singapore personnel and their families would be based in Manawatu should the proposal go ahead, bringing about 500 people into the region.
Due to its size, Singapore had trouble finding airspace to be able to train with the F15s in.
But Mitchell said he was being careful about managing people's expectations.
"There's still a lot of work to be done and there's a long way to go, but it's nice to be engaged. It's great that we are working together."
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