The US Navy is working on a robotic fish that will be able to swim undetected into hostile waters and send back information on opponents' ships.

Kiwi troops sent to Iraq need a clear objective and a way out within two years, says a military academic and former army officer who has served in the country.

New Zealand could further extend its mission training security forces in Afghanistan beyond next year after the United States announced it was delaying the planned withdrawal of 1000 troops from Afghanistan.

Gerry Brownlee is one of National's most level-headed, collected, unflappable and even-tempered Cabinet ministers.

It's not easy being a member of the Swiss Guard. There's the silly uniform to wear, and occasionally you might have to step in and risk your life to save the boss.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters claims "large-scale" military preparations are under way at New Zealand bases in anticipation of a deployment to Iraq.

John Key has admitted that though any Kiwi troops sent to Iraq would be "behind the wire", they'd still face significant risk from attack by Isis supporters posing as soldiers.

Defence Force staff have begun training for potential deployment to Iraq to support the fight against Islamic State (Isis), Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has confirmed.

NZ and Australia are in talks around forming a joint force to serve in Iraq against Isis, a century after the first Anzac force was created, Australian media are reporting.

When the SIS comes to the Beehive it brings its briefing papers in a locked case and once the briefing is finished it gathers all the copies up, locks them back in the case and takes them away.

Racially charged protests in Ferguson are fuelling an exponential increase in gun sales among mainly white customers at one of the premier shooting ranges in the United States.

Only in a topsy-turvy world would it be seen as rational to bring a posse of spies to heel by increasing their rights to snoop without a warrant, writes Brian Rudman.

China is building a massive island in the South China Sea that could host an airfield in an area where Beijing is locked in territorial disputes with neighbouring states, a US military spokesman says.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion aircraft which has been supporting counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Arabia has had its mission extended for another year.

An agent who evaded the Nazis to send coded messages to Britain is to be honoured by France. Andrew Stone writes about a modest war hero who lives quietly in Auckland.

A chilling but illuminating legacy of the former East German state is the archives of its Ministry for State Security, the dreaded Stasi.

The Russians are coming, but the Australian Government isn't about to panic. Four Russian warships are exercising in the Coral Sea before this weekend's G20.

John Key was playing to a vital international audience when he said that New Zealand has an opportunity to make sure the United Nations Security Council lifts its game.

The Prime Minister says New Zealand could expand its counter-piracy mission around Somalia or undertake missions delaying or disrupting enemy forces in the Gulf to free up other countries to focus more on Isis.

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says any deployment of soldiers to train the Iraqi Army will not be the same as Afghanistan.

If there's one thing that irks Rebecca Kitteridge, it is being referred to as the new head of the SIS spy agency.

As many as six senior members of the North Korean regime have apparently been purged in the latest bout of blood-letting in Pyongyang.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully is quite prepared to test friendships including with China and the US during New Zealand's two-year term on the Security Council, starting in 2015.