The venerable Skyhawk jets that served as New Zealand’s last combat aircraft are coming to the end of their second life as ”adversaries” for foreign militaries.
After the Government decided the air force no longer needed an air strike wing in the early 2000s, its fleet of 17 A-4 Skyhawks were put up for sale.
In 2012, after 10 years in storage, eight Skyhawks were bought by United States military contractors Draken International which provided “enemy” fighters to go up against American air force pilots.
Now over 50 years old, the Skyhawks were quite a formidable aircraft in their day, but now no match for the US 5th generation F-35s and F-22s.
According to Aviation Week Network publication, the US air force decided not to renew Draken International’s contract to provide adversary aircraft for training purposes at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
These types of desert training exercises were made famous by the 1980s blockbuster Top Gun which included several scenes of navy pilots dogfighting against ‘bogey’ aircraft of various models including Skyhawks.
The sequel to Top Gun was just about to be released with the film’s main character Maverick (Tom Cruise) flying F-18s.
The New Zealand air force bought ten A-4K and four TA-4K Skyhawks in 1970 from the US which served with No 75 Squadron at Ōhakea.
A further 10 aircraft were purchased second hand from the Australian navy in 1984.
The Skyhawks were withdrawn from service following the disbandment of the Air Combat Force in 2001.
They stored at Woodbourne air base, and eight of the surviving fleet were sold to Draken International in 2012.
Avionics technician Don Simms worked on Skyhawks and co-authored a book on the history of the aircraft’s role in the air force.
He said at the time the decision was controversial.
“It was justified by then prime minister Helen Clark on the basis that the Skyhawks were ‘clapped out’ and ‘that we live in a benign strategic environment’.
“Oh how times have changed, and I guess the Skyhawks have had the last laugh – they are still flying 20 years after Helen Clark’s comments and appear to have aged rather well.”
According to Aviation Week, Draken flew its “enemy aircraft” for high-end training Red Flag exercises for the US air force’s weapons school.
In 2018, the company was awarded a $280 million contract to continue this training, and the contract was expiring this northern summer.
The US air force’s Lieutenant General David Nahom told the US Senate Appropriations defence subcommittee on May 17 that while Draken’s aircraft were good for basic pilot training, they weren’t “effective against jets like F-22s or F-35s” in the mock exercises.
Draken’s fleet included aircraft such as A-4 Skyhawks, L-159As, Dassault Mirage F1s, and Atlas Cheetahs.
