ROBERT KITCHIN/Zo
The frigate Te Mana during an exercise in Wellington Harbour.
The warship HMNZS Te Mana is conducting exercises in Wellington Harbor this week, giving the capital its first glimpse of the newly upgraded ship.
Commander Mike Peebles has been in charge of the ship since refurbishment began in Canada in 2019, with the aim of bringing the frigate up to the level of comparable frigates used by New Zealand’s allies.
It was part of the troubled project to upgrade both Defense Force frigates, planned since 2014which ended up costing more than $600 million.
The ship returned to New Zealand in July, before sailing back to Australia for training exercises with the Australian Defense Force.
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Caroline Williams/Stuff
HMNZS Te Mana returns to Aotearoa from Canada where it received a comprehensive system upgrade for three years.
The “airflow” over the ship had changed after the upgrade, so the training in Australia included retesting flights with the Navy helicopters, Peebles said.
But the journey didn’t quite go as planned – the ship stuck in Australia because the ship-wide communications system failed. It had to borrow a part from the other NZDF frigate, HMNZS Te Kaha, to return home.
Peebles said the visit to Wellington this week was a public outing for the ship and was about “showing off the new design to the nation’s capital”.
ROBERT KITCHIN/Zo
HMNZS Te Mana carries a 5-inch fully automatic lightweight gun as its main gun.
“We’ve been in port and in the Cook Strait and shown a very small snapshot of what the ship can do,” he said.
The upgrade was “impressive,” he said, and significantly changed the ship. More than 60 km of new cabling has been installed.
After the upgrade, the Navy had gone through a trial and error process to make operations run smoother with the new capabilities. “It’s had a top-notch upgrade. We need to learn how to operate and release full-range capabilities when needed.”
ROBERT KITCHIN/Zo
Te Mana is 118 meters long and displaces 3660 tons of water.
The frigate can do “anything,” Peebles said. “All spectrums of operations, high-end warfare, local fisheries support, customs, search and rescue, it has diverse capabilities.”
New Zealand’s two frigates – Te Mana and Te Kaha – are the Navy’s main combat ships.
Te Mana carries several guns, including a 5-inch main gun, SeaCeptor missiles, two anti-submarine torpedoes and a Seasprite helicopter.
The vessel was first delivered to New Zealand in 1999 and is expected to last until the mid-2030s.
ROBERT KITCHIN/Zo
As part of the upgrade in Canada, the onboard systems have now been significantly upgraded.
The upgrade in Canada included a new combat management system, new radars, electronic sensing and other overwater sensors, the self-defense missile system, anti-missile and torpedo decoys, and an upgrade to the hull-mounted sonar.
The ship is large – 118 meters long, with a full crew of 178 people. It displaces 3660 tons of water.
Te Mana was part of a combined task force operating in the Persian Gulf in 2009.
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