Disbanded
New Zealand's defence budget was pressured by involvement in East Timor, and a decade of failing to match inflationary costs. The price of maintaining fast jets was increasingly criticised by Treasury and opposition political parties. On election of a Labour government, the purchase of 28 F16s was scrapped, and the existing A4 Skyhawks and Aermacchis retired. Together with the other RNZAF fast jet units, No 14 Squadron was disbanded on 13 December 2001. A contract to sell the 17 surviving Aermacchis was signed in September 2005. The purchaser is a private US pilot training firm, which announced it will continue to operate them in their RNZAF squadron colours, sans national markings. However the deal to sell the Aermacchi trainers and also the A4-K Skyhawks fell through. They are now expected to be sold for spare or reserved as Museum pieces.
Read more about this topic: No. 14 Squadron RNZAF