A Defence Force commander warned New Zealand would be cut off from information exchanges within the Five Eyes intelligence group if it did not sign up to build a new digital super-system.

A month later, it signed up to what's dubbed Project Arcadia.

Newly released briefings show the internal warning in April came as Defence (NZDF) considered whether to help build Arcadia.

The US in May announced the build of a new digital backbone linking the five countries' militaries.

The briefings said joining it would let the NZDF go "far beyond" what it could afford alone, "without loss of national control".

But they also warned of the next-generation system: "Arcadia capabilities will become foundational to the way that we plan, integrate and execute operations with FVEY partners.

"If NZDF does not commit ... it will not have access to these foundational capabilities, becoming effectively cut off from future FVEY information exchanges."

Arcadia would enhance warfighting and intelligence gathering, the papers said.

It would give NZ access to emerging technologies and ensure it was aligned and interoperable with the other Five Eye countries.

Defence would need to ask for extra funding in Budget 2027 for a build of Arcadia expected to take six years, said a briefing.

Defence forces worldwide are rushing to get hold of emerging military tech such as drones, hypersonic missiles and electromagnetic warfare systems that can block drones or interfere with satellites.

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A top US Indo-Pacific commander has emphasised the Pentagon increasingly putting a top priority on getting data faster, stating, "Who competes best in this, who adapts better, who is better able to combine data, computing power, AI - and who could win the first battle, likely in space, cyber and the information domain - shall prevail."

A lot of the US rhetoric has been aimed at China.

The briefings said New Zealand helped come up with the concept of Arcadia when it led a key Five Eyes information group in 2024-25.

Joining it would give the country influence over military tech.

"Without joining the MOU, NZ risks becoming a lower trust, lower influence partner."

The MOU, or memorandum of understanding, appears to have been signed in May 2026. It was to set out oversight and funding for the long term. RNZ has asked NZDF about signing up.

The ongoing costs were not clear partly because the project would use emerging military technology.

By April the NZDF had spent about $3 million on it.

"The spread of costs are not known at this point," said an April document, adding a US programme office was working on that.

"Arcadia ... is a cost-effective capability uplift. NZ's contribution, relative to the total investment, allows us to receive access to capabilities far beyond what we could afford alone."

A big lift in the NZDF's technology, including data and weapons systems, was central to the $12 billion Defence Capability Plan to run from 2025-29. Though it was large and growing fast, defence spending had not become an election issue.

Arcadia had become central to the force's digital modernisation.

"NZ must ensure we have the skills and modernised systems to fully leverage Arcadia," Brigadier E J Harrop, commander of Information Command told the Vice Chief of the Defence Force in April.

"Arcadia enables FVEY partners and their communities ... to work together faster, more securely, and at a greater scale across missions, exercises, and day to day defence activities."

Arcadia builds on other US-led projects aimed at more multinational integration that NZDF has joined since 2020 ranging from the US navy to the US space force. RNZ has reported extensively on these.

The US in May said Arcadia "has galvanized this remarkable unity" among Five Eyes - the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and NZ.

The briefings said Arcadia fit in with the government's whole Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) target state, but would be independent of it, setting up its own platforms "within guardrails, in cost-effective, efficient and secure ways".