Defence Force holds flurry of high-tech meetings with Western power trio

• The Defence Force has held dozens of meetings with three powerful partners, including the US, about advanced tech such as drones.
• An agreement is being worked on, but the Ministry of Defence has not said just what about.
• Local 'emerging tech' companies and venture capitalists are also invited inside the tent.

The Defence Force has been holding dozens of unannounced meetings and engagements about advanced technology and spy tech with the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defence has begun meeting with local emerging tech companies and venture capitalists for the first time.

New Zealand's allies have been making a raft of moves this year to propel the sharing of advanced military technology.

The Defence Police and Strategy statement of August 2023 said: "Aukus Pillar Two may present an opportunity for New Zealand to cooperate with close security partners on emerging technologies."

Documents released under the Official Information Act show the Defence Force's science and technology unit held 32 in-person engagements since January with the other three countries.

All were focused on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) or autonomous systems, like drones. ISR plays a critical role in winning battles as well as supporting "grey zone" spying operations, according to US Congress papers.

Many of the meetings were also about a multilateral memorandum of understanding, but Defence has not said what this MOU is.

RNZ asked Defence Minister Judith Collins if the series of defence tech meetings had anything to do with the Aukus Pillar Two military pact set up by the US, UK and Australia. Collin said this was an operational matter for the Defence Force.

New Zealand has been considering joining Pillar Two for two years; the arrangement exists to advance the sharing of advanced military tech.

The Ministry of Defence, meanwhile, arranged in May for seven officials to meet with 10 local emerging tech companies and venture capitalists.

It told RNZ this was business as usual, though it was the first workshop of its kind.

"This meeting was considered a first engagement with a small subset of emerging technology companies," a ministry report said.

It outlined to the select companies its "our work on the Defence Capability Plan". This was before the defence minister had seen the plan, which has not been released to the public yet.

It will entail spending billions of dollars on weapons to set up the army, navy and air force for the next 15 years.

"It was the first workshop held with those 10 companies," the ministry said on Friday.

"Information discussed and feedback provided was in line with other engagement with defence industry, which is BAU [business as usual]. No draft plans were shared."

The Defence Force is cash-strapped and its $100m ship HMNZS Manawanui just sank, however, its ambitions include building ground-based tech to support space systems, and it launched its very first experimental unit on a US satellite in March.

It had aimed to launch a second payload from the US around now - it has not told RNZ how that is going.

Satellites are a crucial part of ISR.

A US-funded Defence Force hub in Auckland contributes to space domain awareness, which can be deployed to boost military ISR.

At the May meeting on high-tech, the ministry talked about ways to change how the Defence Force makes purchases to suit the companies more.

It was held "to discuss opportunities for better engagement, as well as how our traditional procurement processes would need to change to better align with emerging technology cycles", a document released under the Official Information Act said.

The ministry told RNZ on Friday that "matters discussed and feedback provided was in line with other engagements that occur as part of normal business practices".

As its partners move to lower the barriers to military trade, with several significant law changes this year, New Zealand has signalled it wants in.

It has been exploring the commercial opportunities under Aukus Pillar Two, as well as those that might come from the Pentagon ramping up satellite launches over the next three years.

The partners have been dividing their focus between pushing the tripartite Aukus Pillar One pact around nuclear-powered subs, and making early moves under Pillar Two to boost weapons development in eight high-tech areas.

One focus of Pillar Two is sharing AI-driven autonomous technology.

For New Zealand, joining Pillar Two remains uncertain. However, in June, it quietly signed up to a US-led strategy to expand the weapons-making defence industrial base across the Indo-Pacific region.

New Zealand has also since 2022 been considered by the US to be part of its National Technology and Industrial Base, a military trade arrangement.

Documents released under the OIA show all 32 meetings with the other countries were by the Defence Force's defence science and technology unit. A lot more online meetings were also held.

Twenty-two meetings were about the multilateral MOU. In the last three months, six such meetings have been held, including a "working group" and one with "MOU principals" in November.

The ministry-industry meeting in Auckland in May was held at Outset Ventures, a start-up incubator that once gave a leg-up to Rocket Lab and has Sir Peter Beck, who heads Rocket Lab, as one of its advisors.

"As the most important hub for deeptech in New Zealand, Outset Ventures frequently supports discussions between public and private sector on important technology projects," an Outset spokesperson told RNZ.

"It's critical that we have open lines of communication with the government, so that they can stay across the latest developments in emerging technologies today and into the future."

The ministry did not tell RNZ how it decided which 10 companies to invite. RNZ understands it approached companies earlier in year but not all were keen.

The New Zealand Defence Industry Association said it was aware of the May meeting but it did not arrange it.

"NZ industry and Defence are always in communication and this continuing engagement is a positive one," chief executive Ian Harman in a brief statement said.

Asked if the association had been pushing for the Defence Force to change its procurement practices for getting high-tech products and services, he said it had not been.

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