New Zealand has two Anzac-class frigates and they will need incremental modernisation till their replacement in the early 2030s. (Gordon Arthur)
New Zealand has released its delayed Defence Capability Plan (DCP). The government blueprint lists priorities and investments in the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) over the coming 14 years.
The previous DCP was released in 2019, but the plan will now be updated every two years. Few surprises are contained within, with the document proposing evolutionary development of the NZDF. However, this edition – published on 7 April – does promise expenditure of NZD12 billion (USD7.1 billion) over the coming four years, of which NZD9 billion is new spending. The aim is to double defence spending as a proportion of GDP to 2% within eight years.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said at the DCP's launch, “Global tensions are increasing rapidly … but our current defence spending is simply too low.” Increased expenditure is vital because, as one analyst told Janes, “New Zealand risks becoming a strategic liability to Australia,” given its weak capabilities.
Shocked by a Chinese naval task group sailing through the Tasman Sea in February, the report noted that “New Zealand's geographic isolation no longer shelters us from threats to the extent it once did. We are seeing increasing threats to, and through, our extensive maritime area of interest… We face the increasing prospect of hostile forces operating in our wider maritime domain in ways that are coercive and threatening”.
Investment
The plan proceeds to outline investments in the armed services. The navy receives the greatest share of money, its largest NZD2 billion allocation for 2025–28 being for the replacement of eight Seasprite helicopters.
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