Secrecy shrouds details of RNZAF planes being intercepted while flying on missions overseas

The disclosure  that 92 missions flown by  RNZAF P3 Orions have been intercepted  by the jets of foreign powers is sending  shock waves through the broader defence community.

Details  of the incidents, including the identity of the foreign powers and the exact locations of the interceptions, were withheld on national security grounds under the Official Information Act.

The NZ Herald broke the  story after  it had been withheld on national security grounds.

What is  alarming is that the public is  left unaware of the risks  which are routinely  carried by defence personnel  as they fly these missions.  It also points  to the need  for greater defence spending  to ensure the RNZAF, and other  defence services, have  the  resources  they  need  for the complex  tasks  they are expected to undertake.  

Defence chief of staff Air Commodore A. J. Woods  told the NZ Herald the 92 intercepts of the P-3K2 Orion maritime patrol planes happened across 234 missions since 2015.