A Kiwi soldier wounded by friendly fire in Afghanistan has paid tribute to a US Air Force search and rescue crew after they received one of the US military's highest honours.

High-tech spy drones and sophisticated seabed mines are being developed in New Zealand and sold to global military superpowers.

Lieutenant General Tim Keating was sworn in as Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force at a ceremony in Wellington today.

The United States Army is considering replacing thousands of soldiers with robots as it adjusts to sweeping troop cuts.

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are reportedly set to arrest three burglars who had been operating in the resort when she went missing.

'Nothing was located.' A jet-skier's reported sighting of a World War Two sea mine sparked a fruitless search in Lyttelton Harbour.

The family of dead soldier Rory Malone claim the Defence Force have treated them like 'second-class' citizens and the insensitive handling of his funeral arrangements caused them unnecessary stress.

A military expert believes Madeleine McCann's abductor might have been caught on camera by a spy plane on a training exercise for Nato.

Without a doubt commanding the Anzac class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha. Being appointed to lead such a great team and represent New Zealand was an amazing privilege.

The offer of money made to the Pike River families by the mine's former boss doesn't look good, Prime Minister John Key says.

An SAS soldier has been fined $4700 at a court martial in Auckland this afternoon for stealing service property, but can remain in the Army.

A staff sergeant in the SAS has told a court martial about how surplus United States military equipment, including a truck, was used by New Zealand armed forces in Afghanistan.

A coroner has recommended that authorities consider strengthening drug testing regimes after an Air Force member died during a training exercise after consuming steroids.

One of the charges against a SAS soldier facing a court martial has been withdrawn this morning.

A SAS soldier accused of stealing service property didn't know the gun accessories were owned by the Army, his defence lawyer told a court martial today.

Territorial squabbles over uninhabited islands should not be one of the reasons that people are allowed to kill each other.

A Central Otago farmer - said to be in the process of brokering a multimillion-dollar export deal with the United Arab Emirates.

The Defence Force paid US$1,000 to the families of two elite Afghan soldiers who were killed while the SAS was mentoring them.

Farmers, shopkeepers, police officers and a mayor have volunteered to play "bad guys" in a large-scale realistic war game.

Old soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder with serving troops this morning to commemorate Armistice Day on the 95th anniversary of the end of World War I.

The mother of an SAS soldier honoured for his bravery in Afghanistan says nothing will compensate for his death but he "wouldn't have had it any other way".

The mother of an SAS soldier honoured for his bravery in Afghanistan says nothing will compensate for his death but he "wouldn't have had it any other way".

Claims that Australian embassies are involved in intercepting calls and data across Asia will be causing "anxiety and concern" for New Zealand's GCSB and its partners in the United States-led "Five Eyes" intelligence group.

"Who let Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman out of his cage?" writes Brian Rudman. "The whole world in uproar over the extent of US eavesdropping on friends and foes alike, and what does our man do?"

Editorial: Defence relations between New Zealand and the United States have come a long way in a relatively short time. Now another small chapter has been written.