Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) NH90 helicopters have conducted a hostage rescue scenario at night with New Zealand Police personnel.
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Press Release, Wellington, 18 August 2025: Under the cover of darkness, on an unusually still winter’s night in central Wellington, two Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopters hovered above a high-rise building, winching New Zealand Police personnel onto its roof. The recent training between the two organisations centred around an inner-city hostage rescue scenario and was the final exercise for the 14 Police officers involved to gain qualifications in that area.
Working alongside the Air Force was a key aspect for the team, NZ Police Manager Operations Support, Inspector Freda Grace said. “It is important for us to be inter-operable because we should be training with the view that we may be required to operationally deploy. The values and benefits of training together are significant.”
As well as the qualifications gained by the officers involved, one of the helicopter loadmasters, gained her advanced aerial delivery qualification. “We are both training and qualifying our people in aspects that are required for operational deployment,” Inspector Grace said. The training had its challenges for the police personnel, including working in an unknown environment, in the cover of darkness and at speed. “However, the challenges were mitigated because they were all prepared and supported,” she said.
NH90 Helicopter pilot Flight Lieutenant Paul Robinson said training with NZ Police was also a valuable experience for the No. 3 Squadron crews. “It’s always great working with police because of their professionalism. It’s important to make connections and learn about how their processes work so that we can work together seamlessly whenever we need to.”
Flying into an urban environment at night was a rare opportunity for the team, Flight Lieutenant Robinson said. “This particular training is not something we get to do often – maybe once or twice a year – so any opportunity is really valuable.
“Operating in a city environment with different lighting factors can be quite a challenge. It’s good for us to be able to practise and put our skills to use in these types of scenarios, in the event that we ever have to do it for real.”
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