22 August 2024
Australia will contribute $850 million in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture and service missiles at Williamtown near Newcastle.
The project involves the construction of a factory in the Newcastle Airport precinct that will manufacture and service naval strike missiles (NSM) and joint strike missiles (JSM) to be used by the ADF.
It will be one of only two facilities in the world capable of producing the missiles. The other site is in Kongsberg, Norway.
The JSM – which can be fitted to the F-35A aircraft – and NSM are modern anti-ship cruise missiles designed to defeat highly capable enemy warships. Both can also be deployed against land-based targets.
The NSM will enhance the maritime and land strike capabilities of Hobart-class destroyers and Anzac-class frigates, and will replace the Harpoon anti-ship missile, supporting the increased lethality of the enhanced surface combatant fleet. HMAS Sydney test-fired a NSM in July 2024.
The project delivers on priorities in the 2024 National Defence Strategy to both develop the ADF’s ability to precisely strike targets at longer range and manufacture munitions in Australia.
Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Minister Pat Conroy said: “This is about investing in our advanced, high-tech manufacturing industry and developing our sovereign defence industrial base in areas which have been identified as strategic priorities, which in turn means we can accelerate capability delivery to the ADF."
The Government has included Kongsberg Defence Australia as a strategic partner in the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise. The GWEO Enterprise is backed by a commitment of up to $21 billion over the coming decade through the Government’s 2024 Integrated Investment Program.
