The Defence Force plane that broke down in Papua New Guinea on Sunday has been repaired and is on its way to Japan to collect Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his trade delegation.
Members of the delegation had to fly to Tokyo on commercial flights after a fuse blew twice on the notoriously unreliable Boeing 757.
Defence Minister Judith Collins confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that personnel had worked through the night at Whenuapai Air Base in Auckland to repair the fault with the aircraft.
"It is now on its way to Tokyo, via Cairns, to bring the full delegation home," Collins said in a statement.
"Huge thanks to the NZDF team who have worked so hard to make this happen."
She said Sunday's breakdown was "pretty tough" and "embarrassing".
"We forget that other countries have this happen all the time too, but in New Zealand we feel it more.
"I think its because we're such a small population and we know that we always have to try harder to be taken seriously in the world, so we don’t want to end up late and we don't want to end up with a plane that can't operate."
When asked when a replacement aircraft would be purchased, she said the previous government had proposed a replacement date for the "workhorse" aircraft between 2028-2030.
"I can't give it to you with any accuracy because it will still need to be part of the [Defence Capability Plan] but also Cabinet would need to sign off on all that. I don't have any extra money for defence, so we've got to find a way of doing it."
Collins said it was important to have reliable aircraft for prime ministerial delegations and the shifting of troops and equipment.
"I think we're pretty keen to make sure not only the Prime Minister but delegations, which are so important for us at the moment getting out in the world, have the right kit and the right ability to do that."
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