New Zealand Defense Force

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Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand Defense Force
New Zealand Defense Force
guide
Commander in Chief
de jure :		 Queen Elizabeth II , represented by New Zealand Governor General Patsy Reddy
Commander in chief de facto : The Minister of Defense
Defense Minister: Jonathan Coleman
Military Commander: Air Marshal Kevin Short
Military strength
Active soldiers: 9,051 ( Rank 129 )
Reservists: 2,240
Conscription: No
Resilient population: 809,519 men aged 17 to 49 (2005),

802,069 women aged 17 to 49 (2005)

Eligibility for military service: 17 for volunteers; to 49
household
Military budget: NS $ 1.7 billion (2006-07)
Share of gross domestic product : 1.0% (2005)
history
Founding: 1990
Factual foundation: 1914

The New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF, in English : " New Zealand Defense Force "; unlike many other countries in the singular ) comprises the entirety of the three New Zealand armed forces . The NZDF was founded in its current form in 1990 and consists of the New Zealand Army , the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force .

Supreme command

The chief commander in chief of the NZDF is de jure the Governor General of New Zealand , on behalf of the Queen of New Zealand , Elizabeth II.

De facto , their powers are exercised in day-to-day work by the respective defense minister . The armed forces commander is the Chief of Defense Force (CDF), currently Air Marshal Kevin Short, who also acts as the chief advisor to the Secretary of Defense.

history

New Zealand's military history begins with the British Army , which watched over the safety of the settlers in New Zealand. At the beginning of the 20th century, New Zealanders, along with Australians , served in independent units under British command. This is how the ANZAC fought in the First World War . As New Zealand gained independence from Great Britain, stronger links were forged with Australia and the United States .

As part of the ANZUS agreement , New Zealand took part in the Vietnam War against the will of the former colonial power Great Britain . The operation led to fierce controversy and the emergence of an extra-parliamentary opposition .

The US suspended in 1986 its obligations to New Zealand when they refused nuclear-powered or nuclear -tipped ships to allow the start-up of New Zealand ports. Ships of the US Navy must declare before the start of New Zealand waters if they have nuclear weapons on board and which type of drive they have. Since 1986 it has been a policy of the US Navy not to comment on whether any of its ships have been in New Zealand waters.

Duties and Covenants

The NZDF has four main roles:

  • Defense of New Zealand
  • Monitoring regional security
  • International conflict prevention and crisis management, including the fight against international terrorism
  • Support from alliance partners

Due to its isolated location and good relations with its neighbors, New Zealand considers less powerful armed forces to be sufficient. In September 2008, around 600 New Zealanders were serving on missions abroad in the Pacific, Asia and the Middle East .

New Zealand is a member of ANZUS , a military alliance with the aim of securing the Pacific region .

units

army

The New Zealand Army consists of approximately 4,500 full-time soldiers and 2,500 part-time soldiers. Most of these soldiers are infantry . New Zealand has no main battle tanks , but over 100 modified vehicles of the type LAV III (called NZLAV). New Zealand also has its own special forces with the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS). Other army units are:

  • Kgl. neuseel. Infantry regiment ( Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment )
  • Kgl. neuseel. armored corps ( Royal New Zealand Armored Corps )
  • Kgl. neuseel. Artillery Regiment ( Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery )
  • Kgl. neuseel. Corps of Engineers ( Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers )
  • Kgl. neuseel. Telecommunications Corps ( Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals )
  • Kgl. neuseel. Logistics Regiment ( Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment )
  • Kgl. neuseel. Medical Corps of the Army ( Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps )
  • Kgl. New Zealand Sisters Corps ( Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps )
  • Kgl. New Zealand Dental Corps ( Royal New Zealand Army Dental Corps )
  • Kgl. neuseel. Military Police Corps ( Corps of Royal New Zealand Military Police )
  • New Zealand. Enlightenment Corps ( New Zealand Intelligence Corps )

marine

The Royal New Zealand Navy (Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN)) has two frigates of the ANZAC class and eight other smaller ships. This particularly includes patrol boats and support ships . In the coming years, the Navy plans to buy seven more ships as part of the Protector project : one more frigate, two large and four small patrol boats.

The Navy is currently in a phase of conversion, but consists of the following units:

  • Kampfgeschwader ( Naval combat force )
  • Logistics and support squadron ( Logistics force support )
  • Hydrographisches squadron ( Hydro Graphic force )
  • Navy divers diving support
  • 6th Squadron RNZAF ( No. 6 Squadron RNZAF ; naval aviators under the command of the Air Force)

air force

The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) owns around 50 aircraft, which mainly consists of P-3 Orion maritime patrols , C-20s and other, smaller transport aircraft . The RZNAF has no more combat aircraft since the Douglas A-4 and Aermacchi MB 339 were abolished . A plan to procure 28 F-16s was dropped in 2000. The Bell UH-1 used are to be replaced by the NH90 .

The flying units of the RNZAF are:

  • 3rd Squadron ( No. 3 Squadron ) UH-1
  • 5th Squadron ( No. 5 Squadron ) P-3 Orion
  • 6th Squadron ( No. 6 Squadron ) Kaman H-2
  • 40. Relay ( No. 40 squadron ) - C-130 Hercules / 757
  • 42 Squadron ( No. 42 Squadron ) - Beech Kingair B200

literature

  • James Rolfe: The Armed Forces of New Zealand . Allen & Unwin, Sydney 1999, ISBN 186448800X .
  • Jim Rolfe: Cutting their cloth: New Zealand's defense strategy . In: Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Ed.): ASPI Strategy . Barton, Australia 2007, ISBN 978-1-921302-10-7 (English, online [PDF; 2.1 MB ; accessed on January 17, 2016]).

Web links

Commons : Military of New Zealand  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The World Factbook
  2. ^ Defense White Paper 2015. The New Zealand Ministry of Defense , archived from the original on January 14, 2016 ; accessed on May 5, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
  3. ^ " Background Note: New Zealand " , US Department of State