The first four of an eventual nineteen Kiwi Wasps were purchased in 1966 being immediately assigned to the new Leander class frigate of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), HMNZS Waikato.
With the Royal Netherlands Navy beginning in the late 1960s, after the fire onboard HNLMS Karel Doorman, NATO anti-submarine commitments were taken over by a squadron of Westland Wasp helicopters, operated from six Van Speijk class anti-submarine frigates.