New Zealand to buy strike drones in defense modernization push

New Zealand began the process of buying long-range one-way strike drones on July 29, with Defence Minister Chris Penk saying Wellington is looking particularly toward Kiwi suppliers as it modernizes its forces. The purchase marks a sharper turn for a country with a traditionally small military, where drones are now being treated not just as eyes in the sky but as weapons that can drop bombs on a target.

The drone plan sits inside New Zealand’s 2025 Defence Capability Plan, which commits about NZ$12 billion over four years, including NZ$9 billion in new funding. The plan aims to lift defense spending from just over 1% of gross domestic product to more than 2% within eight years, a significant shift for a government that has long kept military outlays modest by regional standards.

The Ministry of Defence has said the strategic situation facing New Zealand is the most unstable and challenging in decades, language that helps explain why strike drones are now part of the conversation in Wellington. Judith Collins, then defense minister, put the security case bluntly in remarks cited this year: “Distance certainly is no longer any protection for New Zealand, not when we have an intercontinental ballistic missile launched in the South Pacific, not when ships with enormous strike power come into our backyard.”

The procurement also carries an industrial-policy element. The government wants Kiwi-made solutions where possible, and that preference could steer contracts toward domestic manufacturers even as the defense force seeks longer reach and lower operating costs than many crewed platforms can provide. New Zealand’s broader modernization push has already covered fleet upgrades, drones, surveillance and networks, reflecting a military planning shift toward unmanned systems and faster adaptation.

That shift was visible on the ground last year. NZ Army soldiers tested drone technology at Burnham Military Camp in August 2025, including first-person-view goggles, while the New Zealand Defence Force said the Army is embracing rapid drone technology and exploring offensive FPV capability. The new strike drone purchase suggests that experimentation is now moving into formal acquisition, with doctrine, training and maintenance systems likely to follow the hardware into service.