page_title: No. 5 Squadron RNZAF
section_title: Twenty-first century
hierarchical_section_title: No. 5 Squadron RNZAF / History / Twenty-first century
caption_attribution_description: Air, Auckland, Whenuapai Open Day 2005, People, Aircraft: Various shots of people, aircraft and displays from the Whenuapai open day - Orion flying display.
context_page_description: No. 5 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force formed during November 1941 in Fiji. It remains on active duty and logged 2,300 hours flight time in 2007.
context_section_description: The aircraft have been deployed to assist international efforts on several occasions. From May 2003 to February 2004, a detachment operated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom by patrolling the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman.
  In October 2004, a contract was signed with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, of the United States, to upgrade the aircraft’s communication, navigation and surveillance, and data management systems. The contract also included an upgrade of crew training, software testing and integration facilities, and mission preparation and analysis systems.
  In 2005, the first of the six P-3K Orions began being upgraded to the new P-3K2 standard, modernising the avionics and mission systems.
  In January 2006, No. 5 Squadron conducted trials to prove the aircraft could operate from Antarctica. This would improve capabilities to better police illegal fishing, and the trial occurred at a time when New Zealand was under pressure to intervene in the increasingly heated dispute between Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and Japanese commercial whaling ships.
  In 2006, an Orion was used to photograph Raoul Island after a small volcanic eruption killed a Department of Conservation (DOC) worker.
  On the 2 May 2011, the RNZAF accepted the first upgraded P-3K2 Orion from the Ministry of Defence. The aircraft is due to undergo a period of Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) before commencing active use.
  Following the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH-370 in March 2014, an RNZAF P-3K2 Orion was deployed to RAAF Base Butterworth to assist with the search for the Boeing 777. The Orion aircraft and crew was then re-tasked and conducted their operations from RAAF Base Pearce near Perth, Western Australia, searching the Southern Indian Ocean for MH-370 alongside other international aircraft and crews.
  As of March 2015, all six RNZAF P-3K2 Orions are fully operational after their comprehensive upgrades.
  In December 2015 the final aircraft and crew rotation returned from a 16 month operation deployed to the Middle East. The deployment supported Combined Maritime Forces in maritime security, anti-terrorism, anti-narcotics, and anti-piracy operations. The detachment completed over 170 missions and flew over 1400 hours.
  The category five Tropical Cyclone Winston caused widespread damage to Fiji in February 2016. A RNZAF P-3K2 Orion was launched and conducted reconnaissance flights less than 24 hours after the cyclone had devastated the archipelago. The imagery captured from the P-3K2 Orion was published widely to raise international awareness of the humanitarian situation. This imagery was instrumental in determining the needs of the worst-hit areas in hours, rather than the days usually required for traditional ground surveys.
  P-3K2 Orion aircraft conducted multiple surveys in 2017 of the Ambae volcano, located in the Vanuatu archipelago, following increasing levels of volcanic activity. This information was used to assist the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office in preparation for major volcanic eruptions.
  A P-3K2 Orion was deployed to the Pacific in January 2018 following the sinking of the MV Butiraoi, a Kiribati ferry carrying over fifty passengers. Seven survivors were located drifting in a dinghy, and their rescue was coordinated by the P-3K2 crew. In the seven years from 2010-2017, P-3K2 search and rescue operations have saved 119 lives, rescued 92 people, and assisted 67 people.
  In February 2018 the final aircraft and crew rotation returned from a further deployment to the Middle East. Over the course of the deployment 135 missions and over 1000 hours were flown supporting Combined Maritime Forces. The deployment worked towards improving maritime security in the region, preventing piracy, and narcotics and weapons smuggling. During the deployment information provided by the P-3K2 Orion led to the seizure of over $700 million of heroin.
  A P-3K2 Orion and crew were deployed to Japan in September 2018 to help implement United Nations Security Council resolutions against North Korea. The P-
caption: A P-3K in 2005
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