STORY📰 The opening of the Military Health and Performance Centre - Tū Manawa Ora, at #Burnham Military Camp signals a major investment in the health, wellbeing and operational readiness of New Zealand Defence Force personnel.

STORY📰 In a significant first, we have taken the lead in organising and delivering a groundbreaking home‑made explosive training package for New Zealand and Australian explosive detection dog teams.

STORY📰 New avionics technician, Aircraftman Findley Barker, has spent years getting to know the Air Force after five years with Air Cadets unit 23, “Ghost Squadron” and has now finally joined the service. He was one of 55 recruits who recently graduated at RNZAF Base Woodbourne.

STORY📰 In a continuation of the close Anzac alliance, the New Zealand Defence Force has welcomed Group Captain Michael Duyvene de Wit from the Royal Australian Air Force, as director of its new Air and Space Warfare Centre.

STORY📰 A #NZAirForce P-8A Poseidon aircraft has carried out a successful fisheries patrol over the #PitcairnIsland Exclusive Economic Zone identifying vessels of interest for the #UnitedKingdom.

STORY📰 When #Westport’s Private Zack Armstrong was asked his reason for recently joining the #NZArmy Ngāti Tūmatauenga as an infantry soldier in the Reserve Force, the registered paramedic answered without hesitation, “to give back to my community.”

STORY📰 For the first time the #NZArmy's Emergency Response team has been able to train with commercial fixed-wing aircraft to broaden the range of their capabilities and more effectively attack wildfires.

STORY📰 The #NZNavy has completed a successful fishery patrol around #StewartIsland and #FoveauxStrait, working in close partnership with Fisheries New Zealand.

STORY📰 #Papakura teacher Jane Encinares-Cruz says she returned from last month’s Defence Force teachers camp inspired by the stories of personnel becoming the best versions of themselves.

STORY📰 Flying in the #NZAirForce's Black Falcons aerobatics team is a dream come true for #Canterbury pilot Squadron Leader Matt Stapp, and he says it’s some of the most challenging flying a pilot can do.

STORY📰 Science teacher Sarah Graham loves an excuse to learn new ideas and skills, and recently accomplished all that and more at a New Zealand Defence Force camp for teachers.

STORY📰 A hands-on military encounter - flying in a Hercules and learning how to fight shipboard fires - has given #Rangiora teacher Dean Rainey an authentic armed forces experience that he is eager to pass onto the students at Cust School.

STORY📰 #Invercargill school teacher and former Navy man Brent Win says a recent Defence Force camp has armed him with the knowledge to advise his students on career pathways suited to their skills.

STORY📰 #Singapore’s Chief of Army recently visited #Wellington to discuss both nations’ progress, visions and challenges, as well as mark a significant milestone with Singaporean personnel training in #Waiouru.

STORY📰 New #NZArmy Reserve Force soldiers have been put to the test in #Waiouru as they developed core combat skills.

STORY📰 #NZNavy multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury will arrive into #Samoa this weekend for a fuel stop as the ship begins its first South West Pacific maritime operation for 2026, Operation Calypso.

STORY📰 For Colonel Lisa Kelliher, the New Zealand Defence Force’s newly appointed Defence Adviser to Australia, Canberra represents both professional familiarity and the centre of New Zealand’s most important defence partnership.

UPDATE📢 The New Zealand Defence Force has this week been busy working alongside civil defence and emergency response agencies in the #Gisborne Tairāwhiti region.

STORY📰 The calibre of New Zealand’s highest level professional military education course has been underscored with the attendance of a senior international military leader to the opening day for the 2026 class.

STORY📰 Helicopter pilot Lieutenant Commander Stephen Knowles, the first #NZNavy pilot to join the #NZAirForce Black Falcons, says his path from the sea to aerobatics was about as straightforward as a barrel roll.

STORY📰 The #NZNavy is again looking forward to playing a full and active ceremonial role at the #WaitangiDay celebrations in the Bay of Islands this year.

NEWS📢 We are continuing to deploy a range of air and land capabilities to assist communities affected by last week’s severe weather, with close to 140 personnel supporting or ready to support recovery efforts.

STORY📰 It’s all about the people, the place and the aircraft for #Auckland man, Commander David Roderick, the newly appointed Commanding Officer of the #NZAirForce’s Naval Aviation squadron.

STORY📰 After two years as Base Commander at Ohakea, Group Captain Peter Gibson handed over the role to Group Captain Mark Whiteside last Friday. He has been appointed Deputy Chief of Air Force, and took up his new post this week, on promotion to Air Commodore.

STORY📰 Last week, under the cover of darkness and in rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, one of our NH90 helicopters and crew rescued 35 people from an #EastCoast campsite after flooding and slips shut State Highway 2 between #Ōpōtiki and #Mātāwai.

STORY📰 New Zealand’s first-ever Defence Adviser to reside in #India says the new role reflects New Zealand’s desire to strengthen relationships with a country putting defence and security at the top of its agenda.

STORY📰 An eye for detail is a crucial skill for carpentry and aligns well with life in the #NZArmy Reserve Force says Private Stefan Lutge, recipient of the Recruit Territorial Force Top Recruit prize for 2025.

NEWS📢 Commodore Andrew Brown RNZN (Retd) has been awarded the Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) in the New Year Honours List 2026 for his leadership of New Zealand’s response to the grounding and subsequent sinking of HMNZS Manawanui in October 2024.

STORY📰 A Pacific patrol by one of our P-8A Poseidon aircraft, that was aimed at providing maritime domain awareness of threats posed by illegal fishing, responded to an emergency yesterday, successfully completing a search and rescue operation for a missing fisherman.

STORY📰 Chief of Army Major General Rose King reflects on the successes, achievements and challenges of 2025, as the #NZArmy looks ahead to the opportunities 2026 will offer.

STORY📰 New Zealand’s worst naval tragedy occurred in 1941 when HMS Neptune struck mines off the coast of Libya and sunk with the loss of all but one of her 764 crew. 150 New Zealand sailors went down with the ship.

STORY📰 Pack marching, digging a shell scrape and learning to navigate unknown terrain while on leave from employment or university isn’t everyone’s idea of enjoyment but the 92 #NZArmy Reserve Force soldiers graduating this month have taken it in their stride.

STORY📰 The warmth that comes with New Zealand camaraderie and moral support is more than enough against a touch of homesickness and colder weather, say two newly minted Tongan Navy officers.

STORY📰 Signing up for the Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) course turned out to be one of the best things to have happened to Liam Hepi, taking him from unemployment to a promising career with the #NZNavy.

STORY📰 There was a special break from tradition for former Feilding High School student Flying Officer Molly Alcock, one of five pilots who received their wings at Base Ohakea on Thursday after completing the 24/1 pilot training course.

STORY📰 A former #Nelson man has received a commendation after saving two lives during a major international exercise in the #Pacific.

STORY📰 Every year, a small team of New Zealand Defence Force photographers stands at high readiness, deploying on training grounds at home, to operations and exercises around the world. Take a look at the photographer moments for 2025.

STORY📰 A recent exercise across the Tasman provided #NZArmy personnel with a valuable opportunity to deploy bulk fuel capabilities with their Australian counterparts on Exercise Overland Nautical Petros.

STORY📰 In 1939, more than 320 New Zealand naval officers and ratings were aboard the cruiser HMS Achilles when it joined the hunt for a German ‘Pocket Battleship’ in the South Atlantic.

STORY📰 Friends, family, haka, senior defence leaders and the Royal New Zealand Navy band were all on show on the wharves at Devonport Naval Base today to welcome home HMNZS Aotearoa and its 80-strong ship’s company who have been deployed at sea since late March.

STORY📰 New Zealand’s ability to launch assistance to its Pacific neighbours in the event of a disaster has been tested at #NZAirForce Base Auckland, where several agencies strengthened their readiness for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the region.

STORY📰 A last-minute personnel change saw #NZNavy Sub Lieutenant Manukura Ngawaka step into a commander’s role for the largest United States Navy humanitarian and civil assistance mission in the Indo-Pacific.

STORY📰 The New Zealand Defence Force has bolstered enforcement of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against North Korea, deploying the #NZNavy and #NZAirForce on Operation Whio.

NEWS📢 A newly-formed unit of the New Zealand Army, Ngāti Tūmatauenga has formally been called to attention today.

STORY📰 Firefighting is a passion for a #Blenheim man serving in both the local volunteer fire brigade and as an Aviation Rescue Firefighter in the #NZAirForce.

STORY📰 A #NZNavy sailor who has shown exceptional leadership, and strengthened morale, cohesion and trust, has been named our Person of the Year. Acting Petty Officer Marine Technician Kristen Kotuhi (Ngāti Raukawa), is also the Sailor of the Year.

STORY📰 For #NZNavy Physical Training Instructor, Petty Officer Deena-Ranginui Puketapu, sport has never been just a pastime - it has been the heartbeat of her life, her connection to whānau, and the vehicle that has taken her from Hawke’s Bay to the world stage.

NEWS📢 New Zealanders wishing to attend #AnzacDay services in #Gallipoli, #Türkiye, are now invited to register to receive their attendance pass for the 2026 commemorations.

STORY📰 A new design for a significantly cost-effective solution for the secure tracking of friendly forces has earned #NZArmy Signaller Benjamin Haddley the 2025 New Zealand Defence Force Innovation of the Year award.

STORY📰 #NZNavy Marine Technician Acting Petty Officer Kristen Kotuhi (Ngāti Raukawa) has been named the 2025 Sailor of the Year, for her professionalism, outstanding leadership and technical mastery.