New Zealand Defence Force

The New Zealand Defence Force (Maori: Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") consists of three services: the New Zealand Army; the Royal New Zealand Air Force; and the Royal New Zealand Navy, and is commanded and headed by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF)

As of 2016 the Commander-in-Chief of the NZDF was Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor-General of New Zealand, who exercised power on the advice of the Minister of Defence, Gerry Brownlee, under the Defence Act 1990. The Chief of Defence Force is Lieutenant-General Tim Keating, who previously served in the capacity of Vice Chief of Defence Force, having being appointed to his current position on 31 January 2014. Gerry Brownlee was appointed Minister of Defence as part of a Cabinet reshuffle following the 2014 New Zealand general election, replacing the now Minister of Health, Jonathan Coleman.

New Zealand's armed forces have three defence policy objectives: to defend New Zealand against low-level threats; to contribute to regional security; and to play a part in global security efforts. New Zealand considers its own national defence needs to be modest, due to its geographical isolation and benign relationships with neighbours. As of November 2014 120 NZDF personnel are deployed overseas on operations and UN missions in the South Pacific, Asia, Africa, Antarctica and Middle East areas, and over 200 on other overseas engagements or exercises.