The defence minister has given the NZ military permission to acquire killer drones - provided a human is operating them and they only kill other soldiers.
While one expert on weapons control says this is dangerous territory, another says it can work within the bounds of international humanitarian law.
The new $12 billion Defence Capability Plan aims to spend up to $450 million on sea and air drones in the next four years.
This will add big long-range drones to the four surveillance models the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) already uses.
Some of the new drones will be nastier, but within limits, Defence Minister Judith Collins told Morning Report on Tuesday.
"We are very clear though, we will not have what's called those drones that actually use AI to go around hunting people," Collins said.
"No, that's not what we're going [sic].
"We're talking about things where it's drones to defend us against other drones."
Asked if the NZDF would deploy killer drones, she said: "No, under no circumstances. That is not what we consider the thing that we should be doing. We believe there should always be a human who is in charge."
Collins was then asked if that meant deployment of lethal drones on soldiers, and she said it was the nature of warfare that sometimes people were injured or killed.
Associate Professor Marianne Hanson of Queensland University, a veteran researcher into arms control, said New Zealand was entering risky new territory.
"New Zealand has previously said that it does not want to use drones for lethal purposes against personnel, but... it seems that the New Zealand Defence Force is now wanting to participate more fully with the US, which is quite explicitly saying that it supports the use."
But Angela Woodward, an expert on weapons control verification, said she had been reassured by what she heard.
"As to the lethal force capacity of it, the key point for me was that Minister Collins reinforced that there would be a human element there, certainly in identifying, and making targeting decisions."
Australia stocks up on lethal drones
The defence plan envisages New Zealand buying what Australia buys where it can, like it has with the submarine-hunting P8 Poseidon planes.
Canberra, which has had a focus on drones for years, is now stocking up on lethal drones.
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Australian defence industry minister Pat Conroy talked about the human-guided Switchblade 300 last year, calling it a "kamikaze" drone. It "loiters" over a target before dropping on it like a bomb.
The NZDF tested a loitering drone last year, but does not own any lethal drones yet, it told RNZ.
While a kamikaze drone is still human controlled, the global industry that provides AI-enabled drones is booming, and these can increasingly be autonomous.
The Copperhead torpedo - from US tech start-up Anduril, which has an Australian arm - is among a flurry of recent drone debuts being marketed to militaries.
"Victory at sea will require large fleets of autonomous subsea, surface, and air vehicles capable of bringing advanced awareness and overwhelming adversaries with mass maritime effects," Anduril said.
"The fight against the [People's Republic of China] in particular is primarily a water-based fight."
US policy does not prohibit development or use of lethal autonomous weapons, requiring instead "appropriate human judgement" over the use of force.
Hanson said plenty of countries did not agree with the loosening of commitments to international humanitarian law by countries including the US and Russia.
"The international community has not been able to [get] together a clear ruling on whether drones should be used should be allowed to be used to actually kill people," she said.
But she said New Zealand - despite its strong record on arms control - was arguably joining in on a "slippery slope" towards a greater tolerance of autonomous lethal systems.
"Will this government in New Zealand continue down that path? And if so, is it likely to have the support of the New Zealand public? I suspect it won't."
The Defence Capability Plan aims to get New Zealand to two percent of GDP spending on defence within eight years. By then, the Europeans might be pushing on to three percent and beyond.
The Trump administration has just hinted it will go ahead with the US's first ever trillion-dollar defence budget, having earlier ordered cuts to programmes it did not like - such as diversity projects - and a reallocation of funds towards drones and emerging technologies.
Its Replicator programme aims to give the US Navy thousands of drones for the Indo-Pacific, starting from August
"Nothing in this plan is something that's so far out there that we can't do it."
The New Zealand government's plan talks mostly about buying more drones to surveil the exclusive economic zone at sea and help Pacific islands.
Woodward said for surveillance, that was a pragmatic and affordable way to use a technology that could be added to easily.
For lethal strike capability, it was important to stick to international humanitarian law such as not targeting civilians, proportionality and not using killer drones indiscriminately, she said.
"It's New Zealand policy to make sure that, you know, decisions to kill remain in human control and it's up to New Zealand public to hold the government to account on that policy and the disarmament strategy," Woodward.
"New Zealand as a customer would need to make sure that the purchase of and use of any technologies is compliant with New Zealand legislation and with international law."
However, international law specific to autonomous weapons system is stalled at the United Nations.
RNZ asked the NZDF if it had a doctrine or policy on use of drones or was adopting Australia's rules.
It would not say, stating it had nothing to add to what the defence minister said.
Collins said the capability plan was "measured".
"Nothing in this plan is something that's so far out there that we can't do it."
Collins and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon both played down the chance of any major problems getting equipment delivered amid a global run on defence contractors, saying major partners were keen to help.
Analysts have also noted that while traditional slow-moving procurement would struggle with the global upsurge in orders, "a cadre of defence start-ups are embracing new ways of manufacturing to reduce costs and act with increased agility", mentioning Anduril as one of these.
"The existing defence-industrial base is being oriented more toward a war footing," said the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Collins said New Zealand had "some very highly qualified people... particularly around the uncrewed aerial systems".
The Defence Industry Association said the capability plan had been a long time coming and provided its members - about 800 nation-wide - "with a greater degree of certainty on areas of investment and emphasis".
"We are encouraged by the opportunities the 2025 Defence Capability Plan provides for New Zealand businesses, both as suppliers in their own right, and in partnership with international defence companies."
The association said was also looking forward to being briefed on a forthcoming 'defence industry strategy'.
Australia's industry strategy last year put a lot of stress on developing sovereign capability in making and servicing weapon systems, such as drones and missiles.
The New Zealand spending is defined in a range per item: Taking all the upper limits of range together, these amount to $12.9 billion over the first four years, while the lower limit is about $8 billion. The figures were indicative only, and a "floor" not a ceiling, the government said. Few figures were given for forecast spend in the following four years from 2029.
In 2016, the National-led government announced a $20 billion defence capability plan over 15 years, but defence spending mostly flatlined.
