Two New Zealand Air Force C130 Hercules should be somewhere in Afghanistan now, Prime Minister Helen Clark says.
“If they’re not there now then they’re pretty close,” she said at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press conference.
The aircraft have been deployed to provide logistical support to the 30 New Zealand SAS troops New Zealand has committed
to the coalition.
In keeping with the secretive nature of SAS operations, the Prime Minister was not saying whether this meant the
aircraft were transporting the elite troops, nor would she disclose any other details of the mission other than they are
expected to be in Afghanistan for about a week.
Miss Clark said the deployment of the Hercules was entirely consistent with the authority delegated to a core group of
cabinet ministers, and said New Zealand forces were ultimately under their full control.