The Prime Minister has been accused of inappropriately "commandeering" the air force to get to photo opportunities and exclusive events after using an Air Force Iroquois to get to the V8s in Hamilton and back to Auckland.

New Zealanders who risked their lives to save others have been recognised at the New Zealand Search and Rescue Awards.

Air NZ is prolonging an offer of "compassionate" discount fares to and from Christchurch as Qantas faces criticism for sticking with normal pricing.

The air force's 17 mothballed Skyhawk jet fighters look likely to end up as museum pieces or spare parts after a Christmas deadline passed with no sign of any money from the American buyer.

When his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer this week, Squadron Leader Steve Hall was determined to make it home from Afghanistan.

An RNZAF Orion has been taken off the search for a New Zealander lost overboard in the Pacific Ocean as hopes of his survival fade.

Every arm of the Defence Force will undergo changes to gain greater efficiency of operation from a constrained state purse, the defence white paper suggests.

The country's top military leader has publicly apologised to the family of an airman killed when an old artillery round unexpectedly exploded.