Defence

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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : Opinion
The Royal New Zealand Navy is standing at a crossroads. Its two current frigates, HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Te Mana, have served the country well for nearly thirty years. However, these ships are reaching the end of their lives. By the mid-2030s, they will need to be replaced if New Zealand wants to maintain a credible combat force at sea.
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Article: https://www.nighthawk.nz/
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : Defence

The Government is progressing work to replace the Royal New Zealand Navy’s ageing frigate fleet as part of broader efforts to strengthen New Zealand’s Defence capability, Defence Minister, Chris Penk, has announced. 

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Article: https://insidegovernment.co.nz/govt-progresses-plan-to-replace-ageing-frigate-fleet/
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : News
Author: Kamuran Pandurov

New Zealand-developed drones will be trialled by the NZDF to strengthen capability while growing local industry, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced on 24 February. The contract has been awarded to Syos Aerospace, founded four years ago in Mount Maunganui and now recognised internationally in unmanned systems.

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Article: https://www.overtdefense.com/2026/03/06/new-zealand-to-trial-locally-developed-air-land-and-sea-drones/
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : News
Author: Phil Pennington,

The new Defence Minister says he has not seen anything in the Iran war that would lead him to reconsider New Zealand's defence relationship with the United States.

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Article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/593277/no-rethink-on-us-drones-on-right-path-for-now-says-new-defence-minister
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : Defence
Author: 1News Reporters

The New Zealand Defence Force has carried out a "high-stakes" medical evacuation from Antarctica’s McMurdo Station.

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Article: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/04/25/defence-force-carries-out-high-stakes-antarctic-medical-evacuation/
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : Defence
Author: Defsec

The question is no longer whether drones will shape future conflict. The question is whether New Zealand intends to participate in that future – or be left behind, writes former New Zealand Army officer Graeme Doull.

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Article: https://defsec.net.nz/2026/04/20/make-drones-the-main-effort/
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : News
Author: TVNZ News

China says it has lodged a serious complaint over the New Zealand Air Force's alleged repeated harassment near its airspace, which the Defence Force denies.

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Article: https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/04/18/china-lodges-serious-protest-over-nz-air-forces-conduct-in-its-air-space/
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Parent Category: News
Category: Defence
Category : Defence
Author: Lucy Xia

A global security expert said China's complaint, over what it calls the New Zealand Airforce's repeated "harassment" near its airspace, could be sign of Beijing's other concerns with New Zealand foreign policy settings - including its attitude towards the war in the Middle East.

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Article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/592774/china-s-complaint-over-nzdf-harassment-could-be-sign-of-other-concerns-expert
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Note from Nighthawk.NZ:

  1. NZDF to send 50 personnel to aerial and ground drones exercise in US
  2. Defence Force look to buy Antarctica equipped drones
  3. No plans to use Palantir in emerging defence-tech space, government says
  4. Chris Penk to become New Zealand’s 44th Minister of Defence
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