After all, Rocket Lab\u2019s most recently reported New Zealand revenue was $431m (for the year to December 31, 2025), and Sir Peter Beck\u2019s firm is by far and away our largest aerospace player.<\/p>\n
On the next tier are Dawn Aerospace and Syos Aerospace, which are also fast-growing companies but somewhere under $100m each in annual revenue, while Kea Aerospace is largely pre-commercial.<\/p>\n
And while there are loads of smaller players \u2013 Outset Ventures counted 230 \u2013 most are below $2m in revenue, and some are well below that or pre-commercial.<\/p>\n
The $2.68b figure comes from a survey by Deloitte Access Economics and Space Trailblazer that was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).<\/p>\n
Source \/ Deloitte and Space Trailblazer report for MBIE, published April 2025<\/p>\n
It\u2019s based on a survey carried out between November 2024 and January 2025, capturing data for 2024.<\/p>\n
A broad brush was used to reach the headline figure. For example, the $1.277b it cites in \u201cspace applications\u201d includes Halter, because its smart collars for cows use GPS and Sky TV, because it offers television via satellite. Tech Insider thinks the next economic census of the industry could do with some tighter definitions.<\/p>\n
However, there\u2019s lots of growth to capture yet, it must be said. Tech Insider joined a group of 20 or so mainly international visitors for a pre-Aerospace Summit tour of some of Christchurch\u2019s aerospace players today, including Dawn, Kea, Fabrum and the University of Canterbury (read more on all three in our Space City segment of the Herald\u2019s recent Project Canterbury special here<\/a>).<\/p>\n The tour also took in an 80-year-old manufacturing firm with 180 staff, which was taking on a further 20 \u2013 in large part because of a growing business making components for Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rockets. I\u2019ll have more on this firm in a future Tech Insider, but it\u2019s one of many that have under-the-radar slices of aerospace business.<\/p>\n Rocket Lab hiring spree<\/p>\n Rocket Lab, now incorporated in the United States and listed on the Nasdaq, had more than half its staff in North America even before it doubled in size with its recent deal to buy<\/a> satellite network operator Iridium for US$8b.<\/p>\n But the firm has also been growing its local operation as it increases its number of Electron launches, expands its satellite business (parts for which are made in Auckland) and uses components for its pending carbon fibre Neutron rocket, which are made in Warkworth at SailGP\u2019s old plant.<\/p>\n Rocket Lab recently said it had more than 1000 staff in NZ \u2013 making it far and away our largest direct employer in the industry (Dawn Aerospace is second with 160 between NZ and the Netherlands).<\/p>\n And Beck\u2019s firm is currently advertising for 92 local roles between Auckland, Waikato and Mahia.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t necessarily have to be a rocket scientist, either. There are lots of machine operator roles, plus general positions from cost analyst to inventory control to IT to social media to \u201ctransportation security officer\u201d.<\/p>\n Ramped up protests expected<\/p>\n Dawn Aerospace is also in hiring mode.<\/p>\n The pre-summit tour heard from strategic development lead Nick Marshall \u2013 himself a recent recruit from Britain, where he had a British Army signals role \u2013 who said Dawn was recruiting for a defence lead in Germany as it opened an office in that country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a centre of mass in the centre of Europe for our defence engagement, as well as civilian commercial engagement. Demand signals from potential customers are huge.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about a possible tilt toward defence contracts, Marshall said:<\/p>\n \u201cDual-use is the phrase of the day. But I don\u2019t see it as dual use. I just see it as use.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything that we currently have and the lessons that we are learning globally out of unfortunate conflict mean that everything that has a civilian use also has a defence use.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, a new executive role called \u201cdefence lead\u201d \u2013 does that mean Dawn\u2019s taking a tilt toward military contracts?<\/p>\n \u201cWe mean defence in the defence sense. We\u2019re not about to weaponise anything,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n Tech Insider was present when Rocket Lab\u2019s Beck recently appeared for a Q&A with University of Auckland Business School students.<\/p>\n One student asked about Rocket Lab\u2019s contracts with the US Space Force and US Department of Defence (or Department of War as the Trump Administration now refers to it, notwithstanding that only Congress could change its name).<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a defence contractor. We do defence work. But we draw the line at weapons,\u201d Beck replied.<\/p>\n Rocket Lab has one contract that will contribute to US President Trump\u2019s envisioned \u201cGolden Dome\u201d to defend the US from missile attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t engage ourselves in weapon systems and all of that, but you can\u2019t be so naive as to think that you know a satellite that you put up in space for doing commercial things can\u2019t be used one day for doing military things.\u201d<\/p>\n Beck added, \u201cAll of us in this room benefit from the space defence infrastructure. You all use GPS. GPS was originally designed for weapons targeting. It\u2019s still used for weapons targeting, but it also delivers your pizza, and you know where your Tinder date is when you need to turn up at the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n Beck\u2019s arguments are persuasive for Tech Insider.<\/p>\n And at the blunter end of things, I\u2019d also be thankful for Kiwi aerospace technology if I were living in a Ukrainian village and an incoming Russian projectile was knocked out of the sky by a Thumper drone made by Tauranga\u2019s Syos Aerospace.<\/p>\n Shifting optics<\/p>\n There\u2019s been more and more of a military air about Kiwi aerospace over the past little while.<\/p>\n That ranges from US \u201cSecretary of War\u201d Pete Hegseth visiting Rocket Lab\u2019s US headquarters to a Dawn Aerospace Aurora Spaceplane being used by the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) to test the frigate Te Kaha\u2019s defences against high-speed projectiles (and Marshall said more NZDF work is on the way), to Air Vice-Marshal Darryn Webb and other Royal New Zealand Air Force brass being on hand for the opening of Kea\u2019s Burnside building. <\/p>\n Webb said<\/a> Kea\u2019s uncrewed aerial vehicles were in the running for a maritime surveillance contract (although NZ\u2019s direct defence spending on new aerospace technologies is minimal compared with allies\u2019 spending. The 2025 Defence Capability Plan gave an \u201cindicative cost\u201d of between $100m and $300m for a technology accelerator by 2028. But in the 2026 Budget, only $17.67m<\/a> in operational and capital funding was provided for the accelerator through to 2029\/30.<\/p>\n Those suspicious about the growing defence element would not have been impressed to learn that a researcher with the US Space Force was a member of the party touring Dawn, Kea and other Christchurch sites.<\/p>\n And the September 15 announcement by US Air Force Secretary Troy Meink that the US has put weapons in space for the first time (in some undefined form) raised the temperature worldwide.<\/p>\n The upshot is that Aerospace Summit organisers are expecting the annual protest outside \u2013 and attempts to disrupt the conference inside \u2013 to be rowdier than ever this year.<\/p>\n Attendees have been told to arrive early for mandatory bag searches and other security measures, and there\u2019s been a clampdown on the cheap student tickets that protestors have previously used to slip inside.<\/p>\n Will there still be disruption? We\u2019ll find out tomorrow.<\/p>\n Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald\u2019s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After all, Rocket Lab\u2019s most recently reported New Zealand revenue was $431m (for the year to December 31,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[53691,1402,9092,3017,4765,50243,303559,8613,38501,3276,1403,6097,61694,221,83644,2936,702,303558,663,89519,117,111,139,69,86269,13316,147,12975,18746,392,23850,370,45666,80,2963],"class_list":["post-616092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-53691","tag-aerospace","tag-against","tag-ahead","tag-annual","tag-anticipated","tag-batten","tag-billion","tag-breaks","tag-chris","tag-defence","tag-down","tag-hatches","tag-how","tag-increasing","tag-insider","tag-it","tag-keall","tag-looks","tag-multibilliondollar","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-organisers","tag-protests","tag-science","tag-sector","tag-size","tag-space","tag-summit","tag-tech","tag-ties","tag-zealand","tag-zealands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth toured a Rocket Lab plant in the US with founder Sir Peter Beck in January.<\/p>\n