The New Zealand Air Force has shared footage of one of its aircraft firing missiles at a ship during a training exercise.
Two AGM-84 Harpoon guided missiles, supplied by the Australian Defence Force, were launched from a P-8A Poseidon near Guam – aimed at a decommissioned ship.
Both missiles hit their target.
The exercise was part of Exercise Valiant Shield, which involved aircraft, ships and submarines from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States.
Weapons from the air, surface vessels, and submarines were used to sink the ship.
The guided missiles can be used to strike ships accurately from a distance of at least 100 kilometres.
It was the first time air-to-surface missiles had been fired from the Air Force's new Poseidons, which arrived in New Zealand in 2022. The aircraft are primarily used for maritime patrols.
Air Commodore Andy Scott said the exercise marked a "significant step foward" for the Air Force.
“These activities are critical to the New Zealand Defence Force’s readiness to be able to meet the challenges of a deteriorating strategic environment, and we are incredibly grateful for the support of partners to assist us in regenerating the ability to rapidly strike targets at distance.”
He said the firing demonstrated the fleet's utility and capability to strike targets from the air.
Scott said that while he hoped the missiles would never have to be used, "part of military readiness is having the ability to do so if called upon".
"This is not something you can generate overnight.
“This firing has been the culmination of a lot of work across multiple parts of Defence, and we would not have been able to rebuild so quickly without the support of our Australian and US partners.”
Poseidon captain, Squadron Leader Michael Craies, said the firing was a "testament to our armament, maintenance, and logistics personnel”.
“When the time came for our firing, the professionalism of all three P-8A crews involved meant that we were able to rapidly acquire the target and fire four Harpoons in total.”
During the exercise, the Poseidon was also part of a task force to find, track, and conduct simulated torpedo attacks against submarines.
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