New Zealand Defence Force experiments with loitering munitions

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment receiving training from a DefendTex instructor on the Drone40 system in February. The training took place at the Linton Military Camp in the North Island of New Zealand. (New Zealand Defence Force)

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is conducting its first experimentation with loitering munitions to keep pace with the changing nature of warfare.

Speaking to Janes in April, Hayden Robinson, the joint experimentation manager for the New Zealand Army, said the NZDF will use the Drone40 loitering munition, built by Australian company DefendTex, for the experimentation.

Experimentation is the first step when the NZDF is interested in possibly acquiring a new capability, Robinson said.

“The NZDF bought a very small number of Drone40 systems for initial assessment,” he said. “These Drone40 units will be used to train soldiers on loitering munitions and get their feedback as well as understand which part of the organisation [NZDF] might use it and how,” he added.

Robinson said a small group of soldiers from the 1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment were trained on the Drone40 systems in February at the Linton Military Camp in the North Island of New Zealand. These soldiers from the infantry regiment will start the experimentation, he continued.

Once the infantry regiment completes experimenting on the Drone40 systems, experimentation will be conducted by Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles and by the 16th Field Regiment (artillery) of the New Zealand Army, respectively, Robinson said.

The experimentation on the Drone40 systems is expected to continue through 2023, he added.