Army gunners fire a M777A 155mm howitzer during training at Puckapunyal, Victoria. Picture: Department of Defence.
Australia is to bolster its domestic capability with new rocket and munitions manufacturing facilities that will create hundreds of jobs.
The Federal Government made two announcements about new production facilities for artillery ammunition and rockets that could also be exported.
The projects are part of the 10-year $21 billion Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise to build defence stocks, strengthen supply chains and support a domestic manufacturing capability.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles says the announcement is about building a more capable, and domestically supplied, military force.
“In our rapidly evolving strategic circumstances, the ADF must be equipped with capabilities that can hold adversaries at risk,” he says.
“The 2024 National Defence Strategy affirmed the need to invest in munitions to build stocks, strengthen supply chains and support a domestic manufacturing capability.
“Investment in a sovereign GWEO Enterprise that can produce and maintain priority weapons will support the ADF’s transformation to an integrated, focused force.”
Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Minister Pat Conroy says the new manufacturing capabilities will make Australia “more self-reliant”.
“… (The) announcement demonstrates the …. government’s commitment to manufacturing munitions in Australia, to develop our sovereign defence industrial base in areas of strategic priority,” he says.
PROJECTS
Thales has been named to build a new forge for 155mm artillery shells which is used by Australia, the US and other countries for the close-fire light (towed) howitzer cannon.
The forge will be built at the Commonwealth-owned Benalla Munitions Facility, creating at least 550 jobs, produce 15,000 rounds annually by 2028 and up to 100,000 rounds for global export.
Government will also partner with Lockheed-Martin to build a factory to make Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS), creating 70 manufacturing jobs and hundreds more construction jobs. (The GMLRS is a long-range surface-to-surface rocket that can be fired from mobile launchers.)
This new facility will allow for the export of up to 4000 multiple rocket systems from 2029 under the 2024 Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations, more than 10 times current Australian Defence Force demand.
