New Zealand's first counter-drone buy will not give full protection, Cabinet paper shows

TLDR

• A July Cabinet paper says New Zealand's initial counter-drone system will not fully protect against advanced threats.¹²
• The paper names no system; RNZ notes a roughly $2m Danish system deal announced in September.¹
• Legal changes are needed to broaden authority to use it, and the paper redacts the details.¹

RNZ reports that a July Cabinet paper, now released, approves the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) buying a foreign-made counter-drone system with limited powers that the paper judged better than local options.¹ The paper says the system would cope with the most likely short-term drone threat but would not give full protection against the advanced or high-intensity threats seen in the Ukraine-Russia and Middle East wars.¹ It adds that the purchase "does establish a critical foundation for future capability development, including potential expansion to systems that physically destroy drones with projectiles".¹ BusinessDesk, which reported the paper on 20 October, says it was released proactively by the NZDF earlier this month and that the specific procurement, described as already in use by Australia, was redacted.²

RNZ says the system would give "sufficient protection" for the army and air force, including RNZAF aircraft and personnel at air bases when deployed overseas, with the navy to follow because it is more complex.¹ It was the fourth strongest of five options, and the reasons were redacted for all five.¹ The paper says inter-agency co-ordination and legislative amendment will be needed to clarify and broaden the legal authority to use the system, although the legislative implications were blanked out, and RNZ notes that one section says it is not intended for use inside New Zealand while another discusses domestic deployment.¹

The paper does not name the system or give sums. RNZ notes that a $2m deal for a Danish system that Australia uses was announced last month and describes Danish firm MyDefence as a maker of radio and GPS jammers.¹ MyDefence's own 1 September release says its partner HighCom Technology signed a NZ$1.96 million contract with the NZDF for MyDefence counter-drone systems, spares and training, with delivery expected in the 2027 financial year.³ BusinessDesk says the NZDF has spent $1.9 million on counter-drone systems, as reported in September.² None of the sources states that the system in the Cabinet paper is the MyDefence one.

On local industry, RNZ says the paper found no New Zealand manufacturer currently meets the NZDF's immediate needs, after the NZDF heard from 46 companies, 17 of them with New Zealand facilities, and that the NZDF's new Technology Accelerator would be used to move towards "sovereign" counter-drone technology.¹

Why it matters: the paper shows a small defence force buying a proven system first, as a base for later systems that destroy drones, while the legal authority to use it is still unsettled; with the system, the sums and the legal gaps redacted, watch for any change to the law and for what the Technology Accelerator delivers.