Updated about 1 hour ago
The Defence Minister has approved the purchase of navy helicopters rejected by Australia due to safety concerns.
The Defence Force will pay $242 million for eight Seasprite helicopters and two spare frames as replacement for its five ageing Seasprites.
The aircraft were orginally built for the Australian Defence Force but Canberra cancelled the contract in 2009 because of cost over-runs and safety concerns.
The minister, Jonathan Coleman, says the safety issues came up because the Australian Defence Force wanted to have two-person crews on the helicopters and New Zealand plans to use three-person crews.
He says the manufacturers have fixed other technical issues identified by the Australians.
Copyright © 2013, Radio New Zealand
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