New Zealand’s Defence Ministry has issued a request for information to replace nearly the entire naval fleet, which currently includes nine ships in six different classes, Defense News reports.
The Royal New Zealand Navy’s flagship — its 568-foot replenishment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa — has been in service for three years, but the remaining eight ships — two frigates, two inshore and two offshore patrol vessels, a sealift ship, and a dive and hydrographic ship — will reach the end of their service lives in the mid-2030s.
