Project Kahu

Project Kahu was a major upgrade for the A-4K Skyhawk attack aircraft operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in the mid-1980s. (The project was named after the Māori-language name for the New Zealand swamp harrier.) History In 1986, the RNZAF initiated this project to improve the capabilities of its Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fleet. The upgrade included the installation of a Westinghouse AN/APG-66 radar optimized for maritime tracking, HOTAS controls and a glass cockpit (2 large CRT screens), MIL-STD 1553B databus, Litton Industries LN-93 inertial navigation system, Ferranti 4510 wide-angle HUD, the Vinten airborne video recording system, the General Instrument ALR-66 radar warning receiver, and a Tracor ALR-39 chaff/flare dispenser. The contract covered the upgrade of all 22 of the RNZAF's Skyhawk fleet, which at the time comprised the surviving 12 (of 14) K-model aircraft of the RNZAF's original order plus the 10 G-models acquired from the Royal Australian Navy in 1984. However, only 21 were completed as one (NZ6210) was lost in 1989 before it was upgraded.