CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Australia will make an initial investment in a solid rocket motor manufacturing complex, showing signs that the military is eying more autonomy from global vendors when it comes to the critical technology for its ammunitions.
Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy revealed the plans, to the tune of AUS$22 million, or US$15 million, earlier this month as part of the government’s Guided Weapons and Explosives Ordnance (GWEO) enterprise.
Industry sources expect a request for information to occur before year’s end, and Canberra hopes the factory will be producing motors by 2030.
The move comes as Australia has attracted local subsidiaries of global defense giants to boost the production of ammunition, including their propulsion.
Lockheed Martin Australia will begin assembling Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) next year and, on Sept. 11, the company signed a teaming agreement with Thales Australia to explore “opportunities to advance the development and production of solid rocket motors for the Australian market,” said a statement released by the firms.
Ultimately, the partners will collaborate, qualify and produce motors and other components for GMLRS. They will also explore local supply chain options, extending even to “large, complex strategic motors.”
James Heading, a director at Lockheed Martin Australia, told Defense News: “If we can build a GMLRS rocket motor in Australia, there’s no reason why we can’t use the same technology and the same skills to build other rocket motors.”
Its chosen partner, Thales Australia, has considerable explosives and propellants expertise. For example, it is investing in large-scale preparation and explosive mixing equipment at the Mulwala munitions factory in southeastern Australia, enabling a 500% increase in the size of rocket motors that can be manufactured there.
Other companies are also angling for a slice of the envisioned solid rocket motor complex.
Ben James, CEO of Nioa Australia-New Zealand, told Defense News of a strategic partnership with Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris subsidiary. “We’re proposing a model on how Australia might move to a sovereign SRM and warhead capability,” he said.
Nioa has a long-term tenancy at the Benalla munitions facility, and the company acquired 130 hectares of adjacent land where an SRM facility could be located, James noted.
Northrop Grumman is keen to get involved, too. A spokesperson told Defense News: “Northrop Grumman is the world’s largest manufacturer of SRMs, and believes we can make a significant contribution to a sovereign SRM manufacturing capability in Australia in the future.”
The spokesperson added: “Northrop Grumman has been working with Australian industry for over three years to develop plans to manufacture SRMs and the associated components and materials in Australia,” adding that a footprint there could help fill gaps in the company’s U.S.-based SRM manufacturing supply chain.
The protracted conflict in Ukraine has created a shift in the way some American weapons makers do business, as they try to de-risk their supply chains by adding capacity in places like Australia.
Simultaneous to the SRM investment, Canberra announced AUS$60 million would be spent over five years to “develop the next generation of guided-weapons subsystems and components, such as hypersonic and long-range strike.”
A Ministry of Defence statement said the funds would “deliver industry-manufactured prototypes of the critical seeker, fuse and warhead subsystems.”
Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.
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