PM Scott Morrison to announce weapons manufacturing centre on visit to Adelaide
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce a $1bn weapons manufacturing centre to support defence forces, when he visits Adelaide on Wednesday.
SA News
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The development of a $1bn weapons manufacturing centre will be accelerated to boost jobs and supply guided missiles to Australia’s defence forces, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce in Adelaide on Wednesday.
An industry partner for the “Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise” will be selected by the end of the year, along with a location.
Three major defence firms with significant operations in Adelaide are expected to be considered as potential partners – Raytheon, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin.
The Aussie-made missiles and guided weapons would be used across the ADF and developed in consultation with the US.
In a visit to Raytheon Australia’s $50m Centre for Joint Integration, at Mawson Lakes, Mr Morrison also will announce a $111m support contract for missile launchers, sensors and command and control shelters being assembled and tested there.
“Creating our own sovereign capability on Australian soil is essential to keep Australians safe, while also providing thousands of local jobs in businesses right across the defence supply chain,” the Prime Minister said.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, having the ability for self-reliance – be it vaccine development or the defence of Australia – is vital to meeting our own requirements in a changing global environment.”
The $1bn investment will be used to create the capability for guided missile production in Australia, along with a skilled workforce and supply chain.
The Advertiser in January revealed $1bn would be injected into upgrading the navy’s arsenal with cutting-edge guided missiles, as part of a $270bn Force Structure Plan outlined in July last year.
That plan included exploring potential for building missiles onshore – a plan to be confirmed by Mr Morrison’s announcement on Wednesday.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has estimated Australia will spend $100bn in the next 20 years on missiles and guided weapons.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton said a selection process for an industry partner would consider firms’ ability to manufacture a suite of precision weapons and provide export opportunities.
“The manufacturing and supply of weapons in Australia will not only benefit and enhance our ADF operational capacity, but will ensure we have adequate supply of weapon stock holdings to sustain combat operations if global supply chains are disrupted,” Mr Dutton said.
The Raytheon centre to be officially opened by Mr Morrison at Mawson Lakes will be the firm’s main site for manufacture, assembly and systems integration in Australia.
Raytheon is the world’s largest missile manufacturer and supplies most of the ADF’s guided weapons. One of the centre’s first projects is the army’s new Short Range Ground-Based Air Defence capability. The centre will be the primary support facility, with the $111m, five-year sustainment, which has an option to extend to 20 years.
Mr Morrison also will unveil a defence manufacturing road map, which he says will “mean more jobs for SA today and a pipeline of $270bn worth of investment”.
“Industry knows and can see how serious we are about the defence industry – not just in SA, but across the country,” he said.
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