The NZDF is among the handful of government agencies exempt from trimming their budgets by 2% this year.

Their funding includes $2.3 billion capital and $1.2 billion operating funding to retain NZDF personnel — currently more than 15,000 people — increase numbers in key areas and improve accommodation and training facilities at military bases across the country. Intelligence and communication security services receive $156 million.

The operating funding includes $120 million over four years to bring NZDF pay closer to market rates and $174 million to meet increased deployment costs.

The Maritime Fleet Renewal program includes $143 million capital and $72 million operating costs over four years for critical maintenance on the Royal New Zealand Navy’s (RNZN) two Anzac-class frigates and the strategic sealift vessel HMNZS Canterbury, while developing options for their replacement.

The RNZN is also funded for introducing two types of drones. One will be used in the south-west Pacific to provide long-duration surveillance data, while the other is polar-capable and will conduct missions from naval vessels in the Southern Ocean. Sustaining the Anzac frigates, in service since 1997 and 1999, respectively, includes $14.9 million for communications upgrades.

There’s $1.5 million of capital funding, alongside $16 million of operating funding, to begin work on the Technology Accelerator program, which focuses on connecting industry with the NZDF to solve specific military challenges.

Major defense projects include $2.6 million on the maritime helicopter replacement and $60.5 million on a Future Air Mobility Capability, a figure set to more than double in the next fiscal year.

Supplying the Bushmaster armored vehicles with communications gets $13 million and $25.6 million goes toward utility vehicle replacement costs.

Willis said this is the second year of the Defence Capability Plan (DCP), expected to average $85.5 million per year over the next four years. She cautioned that the world is more volatile than ever. “The rules-based global system is under strain. Countries are boosting their spending on defense.”

Tucked into the budget is $42 million for the clean-up, salvage and other costs — previously estimated at $32 million —arising from the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui, due to human error, in October 2024.

Penk will also take over Collins’ Space, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) portfolios.

Penk is the first defense minister to have previously served with both New Zealand and Australian forces. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2000, serving as an officer of the watch on the Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha.

He joined the National Party and was elected to Parliament in September 2017.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is currently experiencing a significant increase in integration with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), aiming for an increasingly integrated, interchangeable force by 2035.

This initiative, formalized earlier this year, involves embedding personnel in each other’s units, shared capability development, and synchronized training to operate as a “joint force” in response to a deteriorating security environment.

For example, Royal NZ Air Force units have been operating under ADF call signs, while embedded within Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) units.The two nations aim to operate seamlessly together by 2035, serving as force multipliers for one another while maintaining sovereign independence. Australian and New Zealand officers are serving in senior positions in each other’s command structures.

The NZDF’s operational expansion is not limited to neighboring Australia. An Air Commodore has this year been appointed to New Delhi to serve as New Zealand’s Defence Advisor to India. Previous officers in that role have been resident elsewhere.

The India-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding for Defence Cooperation was signed just over a year ago.

Closer to home is the state of New Zealand’s relationships with South Pacific states, including the Cook Islands and the Solomons, which rely upon Wellington for their security and foreign affairs. China has been encouraging Pacific islands to accept contentious ties with Beijing.

In December 2025, Chief of Defence Air Marshal Tony Davies told Parliament that the country needs to be able to increase its armed forces “significantly and quickly.”

Davies said the NZDF, which has over 15,000 personnel, had cut the average time it took to recruit personnel from 300 days to under 200 and are aiming for just 90 days.

Defence spending, recently around 1% of GDP, is budgeted to reach 2% over the next seven years. In April 2025 the coalition government’s prime minister, Chris Luxon, said current defense spending is too low. However, he has since declared an election in November and politicians will be wary of upsetting voters.

The aircraft flew from Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, near Brisbane, via Norfolk Island, to RNZAF Base Auckland, a distance of 1,765 miles over water. The longest leg of the trip, 660 miles, took around four and a half hours.

Both of the 3 Squadron aircraft landed safely home at RNZAF Base Ohakea Sept. 30.

The flight broke the RNZAF NH90s’ previous over-water record, achieved at the end of last month, of 521 miles across the Coral Sea Basin between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

New Zealand’s air component commander, Air Commodore Andy Scott, said the long-distance flight was important because it demonstrated the utility of the aircraft and the ability for it to self-deploy over a vast area.

“These types of flights give our crews confidence in the system,” he said.

The squadron’s commanding officer, Wing Commander Chris Ross, said the flight gave crews the opportunity to gain valuable long-distance flying skills: “It’s a terrific achievement.”

The marathon flight had been a long time coming, with the capability signed off in 2023, but the opportunity hadn’t arisen until this year, said Squadron Leader Lachie Johnston, the NH90 flight commander.

“We knew the aircraft could do it and we knew the crews were appropriately trained,” Johnston said. “It’s not unheard of for helicopters to fly long trips, but this is a unique capability in the context of doing such long legs over large bodies of water.”

New Zealand defense leaders selected the European-designed NH90 in 2005 to replace the RNZAF’s UH-1 Iroquois, and eight have been in service since 2015, with a ninth serving as an extra.

The new Airbus aircraft will cost NZ$700 million, while the Seahawks will run NZ$2 billion.

The RNZAF has operated the SH-2G(I) Seasprite since 2015. The new Seahawks, meanwhile, will provide a 600-mile range, approximately one-third greater than the Seasprite.

The two B757-200, which first flew in 1993, have been in RNZAF service since 2003 and were modified to 757-2K2 status in 2007 with the addition of an upper deck cargo door, strengthened floor, upgraded engines and improved avionics.

The Airbus A321XLR has a range of 5,400 miles, compared to the 4,485-mile range of the B757s. The extra range will enable flights to Antarctica to return safely to New Zealand if they cannot land due to ice or weather conditions.

Defence Minister Judith Collins and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters made the announcement Aug. 21. It is the first major investment decision to be made as part of the Government’s Defence Capability Plan (DCP), released in April this year.

A complementary Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) capability will be progressed after the helicopter procurement.

“This decision will ensure New Zealand has a critical combat capable, interoperable and dependable fleet,” Collins said. “The MH-60R Seahawk is a great aircraft for what New Zealand needs and fulfills our objective of having a more integrated Anzac force, and the new planes will give us reliable aircraft to deploy personnel and respond to international events.”

New Zealand will be the fifth overseas customer for the Seahawk.

“The DCP provides the foundation for our uplift in defence spending, and two yearly reviews of the plan will allow us to adapt to an ever-changing security environment,” Peters said.

Collins highlighted that the maritime helicopters are versatile and add combat and deterrent capability to the naval fleet.

“These five Seahawks will increase the offensive and defensive capability and surveillance range of New Zealand’s [two Anzac-class] frigates and ensure we are interoperable with our ally Australia and other partner defence forces,” she said.

Collins rejected a suggestion that replacing eight Seasprite helicopters with five Seahawks would mean a reduction in capability because the current fleet were so old they were only able to operate [part] of the time.

“The two new Airbus A321XLR aircraft will be acquired on a six-year lease-to-buy arrangement, with capital costs of $620 million and four-year operating costs of $80.86 million.”

Collins made the announcement exactly a week after opening a new hangar at Ohakea air base for the RNZAF’s four P-8A Poseidons, an event which included a P-8 from both Australia and the U.S.

She described the new hangar as a strategic asset to the whole of New Zealand and said it cost “more than NZ$250 million. You can’t make use of the P-8 without this secure facility.”

Speaking to Defense News, Collins said, “I think we are very focused on our security as a nation, but also on pulling our weight when it comes to things like search and rescue. We are not aggressive people, but we know that sometimes we are going to have to stand up for ourselves.”

Asked about the relatively modest lethality of New Zealand’s defense force, she added, “Let me tell you that if people want to attack our people they should expect that they might get hurt back.”

“We work very closely with the U.S. We’re all Pacific partners.”

“Space is vital for modern life,” New Zealand’s Minister for Space Judith Collins, whose portfolio also includes Defense, said at an inauguration ceremony with top military brass, including Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies and Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb.

“We rely on space-based infrastructure for a range of critical services, from weather observation to financial transactions,” Collins said.

The squadron’s initial focus will be on monitoring, analyzing and understanding space activity to safeguard national and international interests, she added.

Webb said New Zealand recently joined the U.S.-led Operation Olympic Defender, a seven-nation multinational space defense initiative, giving New Zealand a voice and view in the grouping about responsible space behavior.

“Primarily it is about ensuring the continued, free, safe and assured access to space-based services … through deterring any likely action that might occur,” he said.

According to Air Commodore Andy Scott, air component commander at Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand, the new squadron of 12 individuals will grow over time, “working with industry, working with academia.”

Currently, the squadron is working closely with the U.S. Space Force, leading what’s known as the Pacific Cell, Scott explained. “It’s between us, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.”

New Zealand has been active in space based matters for at least a decade, in July 2015 joining the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) military initiative, which includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

In March 2017 the country joined Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in funding the launch of a satellite (WGS-9) for military access to the entire Wideband Global Satellite constellation.

New Zealand also participates, together with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom, in the U.S. Space Force’s annual Schriever Wargames. The drill tests policy, legal and operational approaches to hypothetical space security challenges arising in the future.

Originally formed in 1943, No. 62 Squadron provided allied forces with radar operations in the Pacific in Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, including the Guadalcanal campaign, for more than a year until October 1944.

The motto of the new squadron: ”Look to the stars.”

“To achieve this, the government has allocated $2.7 billion of capital and $563 million of operating funding for priority projects identified in the Defence Capability Plan we released last month,” she said.

Spending priorities include replacing the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s only strategic airlifters, two Boeing 757s-2K2, acquired second-hand in 2003 and updated in 2007.

Replacing the fleet of eight Seasprite SH-2G(I) maritime helicopters is also on the docket. Operated since 2015, only five remain operational, with three now used for parts as they near the end of their service life, Collins recently stated.

Also on the shopping list: New versions of the Javelin anti-armor missile, encrypted radios to provide deployed Army units with secure voice communication, and a counter-drone system.

Officials also want to upgrade Devonport Naval Base, invest in homes for defense families, modernize the defense vehicle fleet and grow digital and information management projects.

The Ministry of Defence, with roughly 200 staff, receives nearly $26 million.

New Zealand’s defense spending is scheduled to reach 2% of GDP by 2032/33. That level of military spending was last achieved in 1982.

“We can’t have prosperity without security. That’s why we’re [doubling] defense spending to 2% of GDP over the next eight years,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon posted on X after the country’s long-awaited Defence Capability Plan (DCP) was released April 7.

The document says the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) needs to be able to project force to deter adversaries.

“While the initial investment will be focused on selecting the first asset/s (ships, planes, or vehicles) to be equipped with missiles, future refreshes will consider expanding this to other assets, potentially delivering long range strike from multiple domains,” the plan reads.

The 48-page document describes investment options out to 2040 for a beleaguered NZDF that lacks personnel, has inadequate accommodation, a naval base troubled by silt, air bases with corroded runways and taxiways — and three warships without sailors.

There will be a planned commitment within the next four years of NZ$12 billion (US$ 6.6 billion) in capability and enablers. Progress will be reviewed every two years, officials said.

“Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we’re insignificant,” said Minister of Defence Judith Collins. “We’re a maritime nation.”

Political and public interest in naval affairs was accentuated in February by the presence of a Chinese naval flotilla, including a 439-foot frigate, a 586-foot replenishment vessel and a 591-foot cruiser in the Tasman Sea.

Their voyage around Australia included an unexpected live-firing exercise which led commercial flights between New Zealand and Australia to be diverted. However, Luxon says the DCP is not targeted at any particular country and there is no change to the country’s anti-nuclear policy.

The current NZDF workforce consists of approximately 8,700 Regular Force personnel, 3,300 reserves and 3,000 civilians. “While the exact growth will be determined by in-depth analysis as capabilities are developed, it is estimated that to support the delivery of this plan, by 2040 NZDF will have grown by around 2,500 people,” the plan reads.

“Up to NZ$1 billion plus” will be spent before 2029 on improving housing and real estate, the document adds.

In the same period the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s (RNZAF’s) two Boeing 757s will be replaced, at up to $NZ1 billion; the Army’s Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs) will get new turrets and more than NZ$1 billion will be spent on “Enterprise Resource Planning.”

The military will buy new drones, both aerial and sea-going, and stock up on Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Sustaining the Royal New Zealand Navy’s two Anzac-class frigates, 26 and 28 years old, respectively, will cost up to NZ$600 million over the next four years; replacing their Kaman SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopters is estimated at more than NZ$2 billion, officials here project.

In the decade to 2039, the NZDF “will look at” replacing weapon systems, including 105mm light guns (in service since the late 80s), the LAVs and the Army’s heavier vehicles, upgrades for the recently introduced C-130J-30 Hercules and the establishment of an Information Warfare Academy.

The NH90 and A109 helicopter fleets may be increased, updated or replaced, and the P-8As will be upgraded. Increased attention will be given both to acquiring drones and defending against them, the plan envisions.

“New Zealand will seek to procure the same assets and equipment as Australia where it makes sense to do so. This will help interoperability,” the document reads.

New Zealand’s Defence Minister Judith Collins and Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles welcomed the appointments during the Oct. 2 South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM) in Auckland.

The two joint forces headquarters are responsible for the planning, control and conduct of their respective country’s military operations.

The appointment of New Zealand Army officer Maj. Gen. Hugh McAslan is the highest-level senior posting of an officer from a foreign military into the Australian forces. The corresponding Australian appointment went to Army Brigadier Michael Bassingthwaighte.

Chief of New Zealand’s Defence Force, Air Marshal Tony Davies, said: “With this reciprocal arrangement that has seen an Australian Army Brigadier appointed as Deputy Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, I am confident we will continue to work well together as allies to ensure our security.”

Equipment currently operated by both countries includes the P-8 and C-130J-30 maritime and transport aircraft and Bushmaster vehicles. New Zealand’s replenishment ship, HMNZS Aotearoa, is supporting Australian warships as the Royal Australian Navy’s own supply vessels are unavailable until early next year.

Among its total inventory, the Army is equipped with Javelin anti-armor missiles, 105mm light guns, and eight-wheel drive light armored vehicles each featuring a 25mm gun. Recently introduced equipment includes the 5.56mm MARS-L rifle and the Australian-made four-wheel drive Bushmaster infantry vehicle.

Like the country’s naval and air forces, the Army has suffered severe attrition in recent years, partly due to remuneration and the state of military housing. Nevertheless, the finance minister announced in January 2024 that government agencies must identify annual savings, including 7.5% from the Defence Ministry and 6.5% from the military, ahead of the budget, due May 30.

In February, the armed forces said that amid gaps in end strength, they were worried about the remaining staff who are “shouldering significant burden” to ensure major equipment and platforms remained at the ready.

Then on March 25, the chief of the defense force, Air Marshal Kevin Short, announced that Boswell will retire June 9.

During his 40 years of service, Boswell served with the United Nations in Angola, East Timor and the Middle East. Defense News recently connected with the Army chief to discuss the state of the force, ongoing modernization programs and the lingering effects of the pandemic. This interview was edited for length and clarity.

What were your goals as Army chief?

On assuming command, I focused the Army’s effort very clearly toward becoming a modern, agile, highly adaptive, light combat force. Modernization involved giving momentum to the Network Enabled Army and Protected Mobility Capability programs as well as continuous improvement through the ongoing soldier modernization program.

Agility is the need for an army — even a small one — to provide the government with options across the spectrum of conflict while maintaining force structures able to task, organize, and — if required — reorganize as quickly as possible and as often as needed to meet changing requirements.

Our operating concept was to be framed by highly professional, highly capable special forces and light infantry, artillery and armor supported by agile, responsive combat support and combat service support.

How is the Network Enabled Army program coming along?

The program is a foundational requirement to achieving a networked, combat-capable force able to operate in a multidomain, multinational combat environment. It will provide the Army with a range of capabilities with which it can collect, transmit, manage and disseminate data in the contemporary operating environment.

Significant progress has been made in this space as we identify and introduce into service the equipment and systems that will enable our Army to better meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and uncertain security environment.

What are the easiest and most challenging aspects of your job?

The smoothest was, without question, having the support of incredibly competent commanders and staff at all levels across the Army. We really are fortunate with the caliber of people within the Army, and having the opportunity to lead them was both humbling and an honor.

With respect to the most challenging aspect of my time as the chief of the Army: the COVID-19 period, and the Army’s decisive commitment to our nation’s COVID-19 response, which was significant. [The pandemic had] wide-ranging impacts on the Army — mostly negative.

Challenges with retention, the generation and maintenance of individual and collective capabilities, and the effective introduction into service of new equipment, vehicles and infrastructure have all been impacted. A lot of work took place in the last 12 or so months to give energy, purpose and direction to the Army’s post-COVID-19 regeneration, but we still have some ways to go.

Without question, the toughest thing to deal with has been how environmental factors have, in a relatively short space of time, impacted the number of experienced professionals within the Army. For the vast majority of our command and specialist appointments, we can’t recruit directly and have to attract, train and retain these people.

In the last three years our Army has lost some absolute treasure due to disillusionment with our role during COVID-19, a lack of operational deployments, and external employment opportunities offering more variety and significantly better remuneration.

Commanders at all levels, both within Army and across the New Zealand Defence Force, have worked hard to shift the dial in this space. We are now seeing the results of that effort. It is, however, a circumstance we won’t quickly recover from and are going to have to remain focused on.

How is the hiatus on training and operations that took place during the pandemic still affecting the force?

We are still able to provide the government with immediate response options across the spectrum of conflict, should it choose to commit the Army to an operational theater. Sustaining those commitments for an extended period is problematic because of the gaps we currently have, post-COVID-19, in key specialist, trade and command appointments.

What is foremost on your wish list for the Army, in terms of personnel and equipment?

With respect to personnel, the chief people officer, with support from across the New Zealand Defence Force, including the Army, is leading a range of initiatives reviewing remuneration, conditions of service and allowances. Landing this effort and then resourcing it accordingly will not be easy, but it has to happen, and it has to happen quickly.

From an equipment perspective, giving real momentum to the Network Enabled Army, Protected Mobility Capability and soldier modernization programs will both enable aging capabilities to be replaced and ensure the force is equipped to operate effectively in the contemporary environment.

How does the Army contribute to the defense of its Western allies?

The New Zealand Defence Force is a combat-capable military force, trained, equipped and ready to respond every hour of the day, every day of the year. We contribute to international peace and security and the rules-based order through deployments of importance to New Zealand.

The New Zealand Army has a bilateral service cooperation plan, dubbed Plan Anzac, with the Australian Army. How has that impacted your force?

Plan Anzac reflects a broader defense relationship, one that is open, based on mutual respect and is enduring. It reflects the value of land power to both nations, and the value that interoperability between the Australian and New Zealand armies brings to combined joint operations.

The agreement makes sure both armies can work as efficiently as possible, complementing each other’s capabilities and capacity. It provides a focus and framework to take ongoing conversations and engagements between allies and mates, and then formalize these to improve existing cooperation.

We are able to better share lessons across capability development, doctrine for training, and many other areas related to the generation and — in the New Zealand Army’s current case — the regeneration of land combat capability.

Is the New Zealand Army’s culture at risk amid Australian input, or vice versa?

We have much more in common than we have differences, but we will always be who we are as Kiwis. And our Aussie mates will always be who they are. Ultimately we are a pretty potent mix and always the better off when we come together in pursuit of a common cause.

How will the military recover from attrition and a lack of experience before the next conflict breaks out?

The New Zealand Defence Force recognizes it will take some years to fully recover the workforce due to the time needed to train suitably qualified and experienced personnel. Despite this, the program to retain, recruit and reenlist people is showing dividends, with the regular force’s attrition reducing from over 15% this time last year to 10.3% as of Feb. 29, 2024.

Over the past year or more, specific targeted payments to critical trades, and a general forcewide retention payment, have been made as part of a range of initiatives to address attrition rates. These payments have been largely funded from unspent personnel expenditure. When facing workforce challenges, steps need to be taken to address them, so prioritization has been given to critical areas of need across the New Zealand Defence Force.

Are the public and politicians adequately aware of national security threats?

New Zealand is becoming more aware of the geostrategic challenges that we face as a nation. Without question, various agencies of government have a key role to play in monitoring and advising security threats. But equally it is important to recognize the role that other institutions play, such as academia and the media.

Is the military making the best use of domestic industry and academia?

Like anything we do, there is always room for improvement. The New Zealand Defence Force’s relationship with both industry and academia is no different and will only keep going from strength to strength, given the mutual respect and positive engagement that occurs between all parties.

How does climate change affect the balance between training for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and practicing for combat?

The primary focus of the Army’s training is and always will remain combat. Forces led, trained and equipped for combat can rapidly adjust to the requirements of support operations when the need arises.

Who are your heroes?

My family. They have sacrificed so much to allow me to serve for as long as I have and in the way that I have. I owe them a debt of thanks that I’m not sure I can ever repay.

The government appointed Judith Collins to the role in October. She’s also the attorney general; the minister for the Government Communications Security Bureau; the minister in charge of digitizing the government; the minister of the Security Intelligence Service; the minister of science, innovation and technology; and the minister of space.

The New Zealand Defence Force’s briefing to the new minister noted the country faces a “challenging strategic environment” not seen for decades, adding that climate change is “of increasing concern.”

While the briefing explained the military is energized by newly acquired equipment, it also cautioned personnel could feel overwhelmed, given they are charged with maintaining the existing inventory while adopting more materiel.

Furthermore, the force has been experiencing retention and recruitment issues. While deployments are “a key motivator for our people,” the diminishing number of qualified and experienced people called upon to deploy is problematic, the briefing noted. “Although recruitment of new personnel continues, unlike civilian staff, uniformed personnel cannot be recruited from the general labor market, as their skills take years to acquire and that training occurs inside the force.”

Defense News put these concerns and more to the minister in a Feb. 8 interview, which was edited for length and clarity.

The previous government released a defense policy and strategy document in August 2023. What do you think of it?

The defense strategy released last year reflected the changing strategic environment and the need to update New Zealand’s policy settings to a more proactive and deliberate approach to security and defense. That geopolitical tension has, if anything, increased since its release.

When will the next defense whitepaper arrive?

Work is underway on a Defence Capability Plan, which will signal the government’s future investment intentions for defense.

What are your priorities for defense and the three armed services?

Retention, interoperability, innovation and international partnerships are my priorities for defense. This includes giving our personnel more opportunities to do what they signed up for and looking at how we can do things differently.

We must take every opportunity to engage with our international partners so we can further our national interests and ensure the New Zealand perspective is heard. We must also listen so we can contribute meaningfully, and be open to new opportunities where they align with our interests.

To what do you attribute the shortage of recruits and the high attrition in the New Zealand Defence Force?

There are several drivers behind the high attrition rates at NZDF, including remuneration, a strong labor market and highly skilled defense personnel being in demand. The NZDF is working on a number of initiatives to address attrition issues. As of late December 2023, the overall regular force’s attrition rate — across all three services — was 11.9%, down from 15.6% 10 months earlier.

In mid-2023, Air Marshal Kevin Short, the chief of the NZDF, told Defense News that the war in Ukraine has emphasized the importance of the military’s supply chain. He said the force would “look at its ‘just in time’ approach, and adjust to a ‘just in case’ approach.” With the demand for ammunition soaring, has New Zealand had to wait longer than usual for ammo, particularly as the country modifies its acquisition approach?

The NZDF is experiencing longer ammunition and explosive procurement lead times than historically normal, but it is wrong to say it has moved from “just in time” to “just in case” ordering. The NZDF orders ammunition to meet stockholdings that support training and force generation, as well as to maintain stockholdings necessary to meet contingencies.

New Zealand is a nation of islands, yet the Navy is the least funded and staffed of the services. Why is that? Will this change?

The NZDF is funded and equipped based on the priorities of the government of the day and continues to serve at the direction of the government of the day, with the equipment and staffing it has available.

Work on future opportunities for the maritime fleet began last year, with market research being undertaken and 49 responses received. The next stage will be advice to the government on next steps for future investment intentions for defense, and I look forward to sharing more details at that stage.

The second pillar of AUKUS — the defense cooperation agreement between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. — could benefit New Zealand’s defense industry and military. Talk about that potential opportunity.

We are actively looking for ways in which New Zealand can participate in AUKUS’ second pillar, as discussed at the Australia-New Zealand Ministerial Consultations 2+2 meeting in early February between the foreign affairs and defense ministers of both New Zealand and Australia.

Australian officials will visit New Zealand as soon as possible to discuss opportunities for New Zealand to join, and in what areas we can add value. I expect it will be in technology and space, which are both areas that offer opportunities to New Zealand businesses and scientists. We expect to take a formal decision on participation at some point this year as details emerge.

We do expect that the second pillar could create potential openings for collaboration with the New Zealand’s defense industry and adjacent technology companies. Collaboration between Australia’s and New Zealand’s defense industries is something we actively encourage, and we are always looking for ways to reduce barriers.

Will New Zealand establish a space command?

There are no current plans for a space command under New Zealand’s joint forces. The development of a Defence Capability Plan currently underway will consider investment options, including options for space, against the government’s priorities, policy settings and financial considerations.

What more might New Zealand do to support Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion?

New Zealand continues to stand with Ukraine in complete solidarity for its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand’s support to Ukraine’s self-defense since Russia’s invasion has included economic, diplomatic and military elements. As part of this ongoing support, NZDF deployments that provide support and training to Ukraine are continuing.

Several European military leaders have warned their citizens about a potential war with Russia. Do you envisage issuing a similar alert?

Comments made domestically by other countries are a matter for them, and I do not have a comment to make on these.