By RNZ
New Zealand has spent $113 million so far to help build and use a web of United States military satellites, government papers show.
New Zealand has relied for 12 years on the Wideband Global Satellite Communications web, built by Boeing and run by the Pentagon for several allied countries.
The US has recently been asking partners to stump up more cash, and New Zealand said it would put $15m towards sending up two much more powerful satellites to take the web up to one dozen.