ABSTRACT
Military airpower in New Zealand has waxed and waned over more than a century. The earliest efforts saw civilian enthusiasts provide pilots for the British Royal Flying Corps in 1915, leading to the eventual formation of an independent Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1937. The breadth of roles and tasks expected of this small airpower force in support of a comprehensive approach to national security is extensive. Challenges include interoperability, affordability, multi-role requirements, capacity for concurrent operations, and how to maintain latent scalability. Adapting to a more uncertain strategic environment and information age technology will exacerbate these challenges. New Zealand’s geographic position on the outer edges of the broad Indian Ocean and Western Pacific region belies its level of interconnectedness with the region. Despite being geographically distant from most of the powers described in this volume, New Zealand is intrinsically connected through diplomatic and strategic partnerships, economic interdependency, people migration, and increasing demographic diversity.
