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.

NEWS📢 This summer, our Defence Force, in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries, will conduct maritime patrols in the Southern Ocean to help protect Antarctic marine ecosystems and economically important fish stocks.

STORY📰 Exercise Tūhono Rangi, a landmark joint training operation with the German Air Force, has wrapped up for our Defence Force, marking a significant step in strengthening interoperability and international defence cooperation.

STORY📰 Over the course of a two-week period, engineers from the #NZArmy built concrete bunkers, blew up bridges, established safe drinking water sources and conducted significant search patrols across the Waiouru Military Training Area.

STORY📰 Royal New Zealand Air Force and Ngāti Tūmatauenga New Zealand Army units tested their joint interoperability in the field recently, simulating firing on the enemy, clearing ordnance and moving injured colleagues to waiting helicopters loaded with flares.

NEWS📢 Three years after the government confirmed the home of the #NZNavy would remain in Devonport, an initial investment of $25 million has been announced by the government for design and planning on the first tranche of works.

STORY📰 For more than three decades Mark Taylor has been the cornerstone of the #NZNavy’s combat system simulation capability, both in uniform and as a civilian.

STORY📰 Ariana Blackwood first visited the Waiouru Military Training Area as a scientist testing the river water. She loved the environment so much she enlisted in the #NZArmy and six years later has been named New Zealand Army Soldier of the Year 2025.

STORY📰 Ngāti Tūmatauenga, the #NZArmy recently hosted representatives from two key Five Power Defence Agreement partners - Singapore and the United Kingdom - in a series of high-level staff talks.

STORY📰 Safety for Sergeant Natalie McGovern, has never been paperwork – it’s about operational readiness.

NEWS 📰 A six-year lease-to-buy deal to acquire replacement strategic transport aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force has been signed, and the livery for the new aircraft has been unveiled. View the livery ⬇️

STORY📰 Adaptability, discipline and people skills are all part of serving in the New Zealand Cadet Forces, says the New Zealand Defence Force’s Cadet of the Year for 2025.

STORY📰 Lance Corporal Sophie Toohey says she was “really surprised” to be named the New Zealand Defence Force Reservist of the Year for 2025, and that it feels really rewarding to have such recognition.

STORY📰 A #PalmerstonNorth man has held off an Australian challenge to emerge the winner of the 1st Battalion RNZIR Top Soldier competition for the #NZArmy.

STORY📰 The families of 85 Cook Islanders who served in the local military but missed out on their medals due to being discharged prior to the end of the Second World War, are now able to apply for these medals.

STORY📰 Last month’s red wind warning meant an extended stay in #Wellington but not a respite in training for HMNZS Taupo’s trainee watchkeepers.

STORY📰 A return trip to Fiji for maritime patrols by the #NZAirForce's MC-12K King Air has provided a further opportunity to demonstrate the aircraft’s ability to operate in the South West Pacific region.

STORY📰 A teacher inspired by the New Zealand Defence Force’s School to Seas/Skies teachers’ programmes has propelled her students to become national competition contenders.

STORY📰 A Navy officer who helps others become the “best versions of themselves” through mentoring and coaching has been named the winner of the New Zealand Defence Force’s Peter Rule Memorial Award for inclusiveness.

NEWS📢 As the South West Pacific high-risk weather season from November to April gets underway, we are reinforcing preparedness of our response capabilities.

STORY📰 After more than a century of continuous service to Dunedin and the wider region, the New Zealand Defence Force’s Kensington Army Hall closed its doors for the final time on Saturday, making way for a new home for southern military units.

STORY📰 New Zealand Defence Force psychologists have developed a programme that the Vietnamese military may adopt to help their personnel on their return from United Nations deployments.

STORY📰 Major David Ackroyd has achieved the rare distinction of being recognised for more than 50 years serving both in Ngāti Tūmatauenga, the #NZArmy, and as a volunteer firefighter.

STORY📰 #NZNavy musician Natalie Paine always remembered the “heck, yeah, why not” from her recruit instructor when she asked if musicians could get a posting to #Antarctica.

STORY📰 #Rotorua aviator Corporal Atelea Mapapalangi (Te Arawa) had his #NZAirForce career mapped out, before suffering a serious health issue which changed that trajectory and forced him to reevaluate his future and open new doors.

STORY📰 Manawatū’s Linton Military Camp is this month the battlefield headquarters for leading soldiers from New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United Kingdom as they hone their combat tactics for working alongside each other.

NEWS📢 The Royal New Zealand Air Force will be hosting several German Air Force aircraft from later this week and working alongside the visitors as they conduct flying training in Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft from Base Woodbourne.

STORY📰 Soldiers from the #NZArmy have carried out a significant training first when local defence contractor, Fighter Jets NZ, was used to simulate realistic close air support missions with jet aircraft.