The New Zealand Government has unveiled a comprehensive strategy to enhance the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) with a focus on modern combat readiness and effective international and domestic engagement.
The newly presented 2025 Defence Capability Plan allocates NZ$12bn ($6.67bn) for the upcoming four years, incorporating NZ$9bn in additional expenditures.
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This initiative will incrementally elevate New Zealand’s defence budget from slightly over 1% of GDP to upwards of 2% within an eight-year timeframe.
The government has pledged to conduct biennial reviews of the plan. The 2025 Defence Capability Plan represents the government’s blueprint for revitalising the NZDF in response to a world that is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said: “Global tensions are increasing rapidly, and New Zealand has stepped up on the world stage, but our current Defence spending is simply too low.”
“This blueprint has been designed with a 15-year horizon but deliberately focuses on critical investments needed in the next four years to ensure our Defence Force can adapt as the world around us changes.”
Luxon expressed gratitude towards coalition partners New Zealand First and ACT for their steadfast commitment to propelling this initiative forward.
Key investment areas outlined in the 2025 Defence Capability Plan include enhancing combat capability with improved strike power, Javelin anti-tank missile upgrade, network enabled army, special operations sustainment and more thereby bolstering New Zealand’s capacity to deter adverse activities.
It aims to strengthen collaborative efforts with Australia and ensure compatibility with allies, which involves a commitment from both New Zealand and Australia to rejuvenate their alliance and intensify their defence ties through a more integrated “Anzac” force.
The plan also seeks to foster innovation and heightened situational awareness by adopting new operational methods and exploring advanced technologies for the NZDF, including uncrewed vehicles, novel space technologies, and augmented funding for Defence Science and Technology.
Some more major investments for the period 2025-2028 also include frigate sustainment programme replacing the maritime helicopters and long-range remotely piloted aircraft.
Defence Minister Judith Collins pointed out that the NZDF personnel have faced a prolonged period of financial constraints and reductions. She noted that a significant number of personnel, particularly those with 10 to 15 years of service, departed from service for alternative career paths.
As a consequence, there is a noticeable depletion in the experienced core of the NZDF staff. The current plan is set to tackle this issue by providing the means to reinforce and revitalize this vital segment of the defence force’s personnel structure, stated Collins.
Collins said: “Already our attrition has fallen from 15.8% in December 2022 to 7.5% in February 2025 – but we know we need to rebuild the core of the NZDF so we can fully utilise the ships, aircraft, vehicles and weapons we already have, while looking to what is needed in the future.
“Our personnel are expected to be called upon more often, in more places, and for longer. For this, they must be equipped and trained for a range of operations, to be more combat capable and able to deter actions adverse to our interests while also being ready to provide essential humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
“This plan does that. It gets our NZDF out of the intensive care unit and not just growing but growing where we need it to.”
