New Zealand takes stepping stone to shooting down drones

The defence force has landed on a stepping-stone towards getting counter-drone systems that can shoot down drones.

A Cabinet paper from July, just released, charts the approval of New Zealand Defence Force moves to buy a foreign-made system with limited powers that was still better than local options.

The papers did not name the system and blanked out all sums but a $2m deal to get a Danish system that Australia uses was announced last month.

The new system would cope with the most likely drone threat short term, but not give full protection from the sort of advance or high-intensity drones threats seen in the Ukraine-Russia or Middle East wars, it said.

"However, it does establish a critical foundation for future capability development, including potential expansion to systems that physically destroy drones with projectiles."

The Danish firm MyDefence markets jammers that disrupt radio and GPS links. It calls one wearable jammer the "pitbull" and another for detecting drones along base perimeters the "wolfpack".

Law changes

Even the limited system the NZDF sought faced legislative barriers to its full use, said the papers.

"Inter-agency co-ordination and amendment to legislation will be required to clarify and broaden the legal authority to use."

All the legislative implications were blanked out.

It would provide "sufficient protection" for the army and air force - "to protect RNZAF aircraft and personnel at air bases when deployed overseas on operations" - but navy would come later as that was more complex.

It was the fourth strongest of five options, with the fifth "maximum protection supporting larger, more complex" operations ruled out. The reasons why were blanked out for all five options.

One section said it was not intended to be used within New Zealand except to support "national security objectives" but another section talked of domestic deployment .

Local 'capability gap'

Spending on counter-drone systems globally hit almost $100 billion in the first nine months of this year though a lot of this was European support to Ukraine, as well as Arab Gulf states arming up. In addition, the US army chose Anduril to build the backbone for its counter-drone system. Anudril's Lattice tech has been partnered with a Palantir system called Maven that sped up targeting hugely in the opening salvoes of the Iran war.

Australia chose counter-drones in November 2025,and NZDF took part in that, and followed up by hearing from 46 companies including 17 with facilities in New Zealand.

"Analysis shows that no domestic manufacturer currently meets NZDF's immediate counter-drone" needs, said the Cabinet paper.

"These capabilities are already in use by Australia and other partners and provide interoperability and value for money.

"While New Zealand companies are developing promising technologies with potential to deliver future solutions, the current threat environment and capability gap require immediate acquisition of proven systems."

Several local firms were developing "promising" options and Defence would use its new Technology Accelerator to move towards getting "sovereign" counter-drone tech.

'Start small' on Accelerator

The new Accelerator would begin by focus on drones and counter-drone systems, suggested a separate Cabinet paper in November 2025, just released.

It would "start small" with just $1m a year envisaged for a co-development fund to support prototype testing and the OK for operations.

However, it had the ambitious goal "to help develop advanced technologies for military use with the NZDF and for export" by late 2026.

NZDF would run competitions as part of teaming up with industry and could end up sharing production facilities so troops could train on prototypes and prove systems had "battlefield pedigree".

"New Zealand companies will have real-world military input into their development cycles, gaining legitimacy helping their own market story."

Businesses would need to be helped to understand export controls, the country's international obligations and its policy on autonomous weapon systems, and membership of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the paper said.

"Supporting businesses to develop capabilities needed by the NZDF ... opens export opportunities to other defence forces and is aligned to the Going for Growth pillars of innovation, technology and science, and promoting global trade and investment."

An OIA response showed the accelerator was being set up in August, "tightly" partnered with the Defence Science and Technology unit or DST, in Auckland, under a four-phase plan that needed additional funding for the next three phases. It would be close by Auckland university expertise.

Some defence commentators have expressed disappointment at funding of $17m over four years, compared to the "signficant uplift" of $100m-$300m Defence cheerled about last year.

The Cabinet paper sketched out taking a "minimum viable approach" with eight staff.

"This reduces risk that scarce fiscal resources are wasted," said then defence minister Judith Collins in the 2025 paper.