Replacing ageing military equipment is often fearsomely expensive.

The announcement that 150 NZ Defence Force personnel will begin pre-deployment training for Iraq at Linton and Waiouru military camps has been condemned.

A victim of a former air force sergeant convicted of abuse and rape over a 12-year period has slammed the Defence Force for its inaction.

A non-commissioned officer of the Defence Force has pleaded not guilty to six sex offence charges, but admitted another six charges at a Court Martial today.

A non-commissioned officer of the Defence Force is facing 13 charges including sexual offences.

Being far from his children on Christmas Day is hard for Major Brett Grieve, especially when he's stationed in Antarctica, but he knows it's all part of his duty, he says.

The Defence Minister has paid tribute to the events the Defence Force has participated in this year, including the search for missing flight MH370.

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.

The Government's carefully thought through approach to battling Isis at home and abroad is an extremely pragmatic and smart political strategy, writes Bryce Edwards.

John Key says he believes Isis is full of 'very bad people' and a military response is morally justified - but hasn't yet made a decision on whether NZ will fight them.

PM John Key appears to have been misinformed by the Defence Force about the nature of a Washington meeting of the United States-led coalition to defeat Islamic State.

The armed forces look set to increasingly rely on drones to defend New Zealand.

A soldier faced disciplinary action after he set off a Claymore mine in a live firing exercise in Afghanistan, injuring himself and another soldier.

Air force commanders allowed a dangerous and deadly culture of rule-breaking that ultimately resulted in the deaths of three young airmen, a court has found.

Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says he can't rule out civilian deaths at the hands of foreign troops as part of a joint raid with NZ soldiers in Afghanistan.

Two inquiries have begun into the award of an $80,000 military contract after the Defence Minister was told the private company doing the work was owned and run by serving personnel.

The owner of a world-famous dog found floating on a log near Great Barrier Island this week has spoken - and this fishy dog's tale is not all it seemed.

The head of New Zealand's anti-doping agency says athletes are failing to speak out against drug cheats within their codes out of loyalty to their team mates.

A Kiwi soldier wounded by friendly fire in Afghanistan has paid tribute to a US Air Force search and rescue crew after they received one of the US military's highest honours.

Lieutenant General Tim Keating was sworn in as Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force at a ceremony in Wellington today.

'Nothing was located.' A jet-skier's reported sighting of a World War Two sea mine sparked a fruitless search in Lyttelton Harbour.

The family of dead soldier Rory Malone claim the Defence Force have treated them like 'second-class' citizens and the insensitive handling of his funeral arrangements caused them unnecessary stress.

Two defence staff killed themselves and seven others attempted to do so in the past year.