THE FOLLOW UP
STATEMENT

New Zealand selected MH-60R Seahawk helicopters as preferred maritime fleet replacement

True

Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.

Interesting: 0/0 • Support: 0/0Log in to vote
other

New Zealand's government selected the MH-60R Seahawk as its preferred option to replace its maritime helicopter fleet.

Source summary
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and New Zealand Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bede Corry met in Washington, D.C., on February 2, 2026, for the New Zealand–United States Strategic Dialogue. They reaffirmed the bilateral partnership and committed to deeper cooperation across the Indo-Pacific on defense interoperability (welcoming New Zealand’s selection of the Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk), Pacific Islands resilience and investment, critical minerals and the digital economy, space cooperation, and Antarctic research and logistics.
View original article →
Latest fact check

The New Zealand government announced on 21 August 2025 that the MH-60R Seahawk is the preferred option to replace its SH-2G(I) maritime helicopter fleet (Beehive press release), and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence project page reiterates the MH-60R as the preferred option with formal negotiations under way and final decisions expected in 2026. Independent defense outlets (FlightGlobal, BreakingDefense) reported the same procurement decision. Verdict: True — official New Zealand government sources explicitly identify the MH-60R as the preferred replacement option, although the acquisition remained subject to Foreign Military Sales negotiations and final business-case approval.

Sources

Timeline

  1. Update · Feb 03, 2026, 12:02 PMTrue
    The New Zealand government announced on 21 August 2025 that the MH-60R Seahawk is the preferred option to replace its SH-2G(I) maritime helicopter fleet (Beehive press release), and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence project page reiterates the MH-60R as the preferred option with formal negotiations under way and final decisions expected in 2026. Independent defense outlets (FlightGlobal, BreakingDefense) reported the same procurement decision. Verdict: True — official New Zealand government sources explicitly identify the MH-60R as the preferred replacement option, although the acquisition remained subject to Foreign Military Sales negotiations and final business-case approval.
  2. Update · Feb 03, 2026, 11:27 AMTrue
    Official statements from both governments confirm the claim. The U.S. Department of State joint statement (Feb 2, 2026) records the Deputy Secretary “welcomed New Zealand’s recent decision to select Lockheed Martin’s MH-60R Seahawk helicopters as its preferred option to replace its maritime helicopter fleet.” New Zealand government releases (Beehive and NZDF/Ministry of Defence, Aug 21, 2025) likewise identify the MH-60R as the preferred option and note negotiations via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process. Verdict: True — the statement is supported by primary official announcements from both the U.S. and New Zealand governments.
  3. Original article · Feb 02, 2026
    View article
Back to Countdowns

Comments

Only logged-in users can comment.
Loading…