It’s time to build our weapons capacity

The time to build stockpiles of weapons and Australian industrial capacity is now.

Minister Pat Conroy announces the Australian government will provide the Ukraine with 49 of its M1A1 Abrams tanks. Picture: Jacquelin Magnay

Off the coast of Hawaii this August, HMAS Sydney successfully fired a Standard Missile 6. This moment signified a step-change in the air and missile defence and long-range strike capability of our Navy.

And it represented another step forward in the Albanese government’s moves to quickly establish Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEO).

Every Australian would prefer that expanding our weapons and munitions capabilities was not necessary. But in a world marked by crisis and disorder, a more lethal and well-equipped military is an essential part of national defence.

We must be clear-eyed about the security environment in the Indo-Pacific. Intensifying strategic competition, rapid military build-up and coercive state behaviour mean we face a challenging strategic environment.

Our country needs credible capability and depth of industrial capacity to support Australia’s strategy of denial. We must show our adversaries that hostile acts against Australia will not succeed, and could not be sustained if conflict were protracted.

Long-range strike is critical to deterrence. It enables the Australian Defence Force to hold an adversary’s forces at risk at greater distances. But there are protracted lead times for securing these weapons. Global production capacity is limited and cannot surge quickly. Australia has not had the capability to manufacture these weapons domestically.

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East have shown how quickly munitions are depleted during war. We could expect similar consumption rates should conflict arise closer to home.

So the time to build stockpiles and Australian industrial capacity is now.

The former Coalition government abrogated its most important responsibility of keeping Australians safe, including by failing to invest in uplifting Australia’s defence industry.

When I took up my ministerial portfolio, I inherited a guided weapons enterprise that was grossly underfunded and a plan that consisted of nothing more than two media releases.

In just over 2½ years, the Albanese government has turned words into substance, giving the defence of our nation the serious attention it deserves.

The results speak for themselves. We are investing up to $21bn directly into GWEO as part of our $50bn increase in defence funding over the next decade.

The first part of our GWEO plan is fast-tracking the acquisition and integration of long-range strike capabilities like the Joint Strike Missile and Naval Strike Missile.

Under our plan Australia will be capable of making both missiles on our shores by 2027. This will provide export opportunities and redundancy for the supply chains of our partners.

We are also doubling the number of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers, and equipping them with the Precision Strike Missile that takes Army’s strike range from 40km to more than 1000km.

For resiliency, quantity matters as much as quality, and we are expanding Australia’s stockpiles of less advanced but important missiles and munitions, dispersed in more facilities nationwide.

The second part of our plan involves a comprehensive uplift of Australia’s GWEO manufacturing capability, working hand in glove with industry.

Building on a century of experience making motors, warheads and components, we are increasing the complexity of the missiles we make. This means more and better-paid jobs as we embrace a future made in Australia.

On the factory floors of the Benalla and Mulwala munitions plants, this is already occurring.

Our $220m investments in those facilities are supporting hundreds more Aussies in our regions to produce munitions faster and more safely.

These workers are the lifeblood of our defence industry. They make as vital a contribution to our security as Australian soldiers, sailors and aviators.

Australian ingenuity is also supporting research on the next generation of guided weapons systems, alongside Five Eyes partners.

The final part of our plan is leveraging the unrivalled power of our international partnerships.

With our closest friends, we are growing our collective capabilities to resist coercion and preserve the freedom and prosperity that defines liberal democratic nations.

As part of our deep-seated alliance with the US, they are on track to manufacture the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System next year.

The AUKUS partnership provided the impetus for historic reform to defence trade rules, breaking down barriers and creating incentives for collaboration in areas like missile defence.

In a challenging geostrategic environment, we are delivering a GWEO enterprise that provides potent capabilities and increased industrial capacity.

The Albanese government’s clarity of purpose, planning and investment is helping ensure that our potential adversaries keep thinking today is not the day.

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Pat Conroy is Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery.