Rank #51 · Oceania
New Zealand maintains a small but capable defence force oriented toward the Indo-Pacific, with a defence budget of approximately $3.1 billion in 2025. A founding member of the ANZUS alliance and Five Eyes intelligence network, New Zealand has accelerated capability investment since 2022 in response to regional security deterioration, adding P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and upgrading its NH90 helicopter fleet.
New Zealand's FY2025/26 defence appropriation sits around NZD 4.9 billion, reflecting successive real-terms increases since the 2023 Defence Policy and Strategy Statement committed to closing longstanding capability gaps. The budget funds NH90 sustainment, P-8A Poseidon crew training and basing at Whenuapai, a light armoured vehicle fleet upgrade, and ongoing frigates HMNZS Te Kaha and Te Mana mid-life refit. Personnel costs dominate at roughly 50% of total spend, and recruitment incentive packages approved in 2024 added pressure to the baseline. The government has signalled progression toward 2% of GDP by 2033 but has not legislated a binding pathway.
The New Zealand Defence Force consists of the New Zealand Army (~4,800), Royal New Zealand Navy (~2,400), and Royal New Zealand Air Force (~2,400), supported by a small reserve component. The Navy operates two ANZAC-class frigates, two offshore patrol vessels, and a dive tender. The Air Force fields five P-8A Poseidons (replacing the aged P-3K2 Orion fleet from 2023), eight NH90 medium helicopters, five A109 light helicopters, and five C-130H/J Hercules. The Army is light infantry-focused with LAV 6.0 wheeled vehicles. Total regular force of ~9,600 is below establishment by roughly 10%, with recruitment a persistent challenge.
New Zealand has a minimal domestic defence industry. The country relies almost entirely on imports for major platforms, with the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia as primary suppliers. Small domestic firms — Rocketlab (launch services), Milspec Manufacturing, and electronics companies — contribute to niche capability but not major systems. The absence of a domestic combat aircraft industry means all air combat capabilities lapsed when the Skyhawks were retired in 2001 — a strategic choice that remains politically contested. Maintenance partnerships with the Australian Defence Force through the ANZAC frigate sustainment arrangement provide some industrial depth.
New Zealand is geographically remote from active conflicts but faces an intensifying Indo-Pacific security environment. China's military presence in the South Pacific — including port access agreements with several Pacific island nations — is the primary driver of increased investment. New Zealand contributes personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations and has supported Operation Bushfire (logistic support to Ukraine) through non-lethal aid. The 2023 Defence Policy Statement explicitly named China's military build-up as a destabilising factor for the first time. NZDF also contributes to Five Eyes intelligence sharing and occasional joint exercises in the Western Pacific with the US, Australia, Japan, and Canada.
The fifth P-8A Poseidon was delivered to Whenuapai in late 2024, completing the maritime patrol aircraft transition from the P-3 Orion. In March 2025 New Zealand signed a joint statement with Australia deepening AUKUS Pillar II cooperation on non-nuclear capabilities including autonomous undersea vehicles. The 2025 defence budget added NZD 400M over four years for cyber resilience and space domain awareness. NZDF announced a light artillery acquisition programme in early 2026 — the first new tube artillery since the L119 105mm purchase — as the Army shifts toward more conventional deterrence tasks in Pacific contingencies.
Approximately NZD 4.9 billion ($3.1B USD) in FY2025/26, representing around 1.5% of GDP. The government has committed to sustained real increases toward a 2% of GDP target by 2033, driven by deteriorating Indo-Pacific security conditions.
Not Pillar I (nuclear-powered submarines), which is limited to Australia, the UK, and the US. New Zealand participates in Pillar II, covering advanced non-nuclear capabilities like autonomous systems, AI, and quantum technologies, consistent with its long-standing nuclear-free policy.
No. New Zealand retired its A-4 Skyhawk strike aircraft in 2001 and has not replaced them with a fighter or strike platform. The Air Force flies P-8A Poseidons for maritime patrol and C-130J Hercules for transport, with no air-to-air combat capability.
ANZUS (with Australia and the US), Five Eyes intelligence sharing (US, UK, Canada, Australia), and the Pacific Islands Forum. Defence ties with Australia are the most operationally intensive, including shared frigate sustainment and joint exercises.