Australia's missile manufacturing capability boosted as Lockheed Martin opens new SA factory
South Australia will claim the extraordinary title of housing the world's only facility outside of the US capable of manufacturing America's most advanced guided missile technology.
Guided missiles known as “70km sniper rifles” will be manufactured north of Adelaide, in a move branded a “transformative milestone” in defence co-operation by the United States government.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on Friday morning will officially open the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missile factory at Port Wakefield, where test production will start within days.
The factory, operated by Lockheed Martin Australia and Defence, will be only the second in the world to produce the missiles, outside the firm’s facility in Camden, Arkansas.
About 20 manufacturing jobs are expected to be created and hundreds more supported across the supply chain as the factory ramps up production to 300 GMLRS annually.
The GMLRS is a precision-guided rocket with a range of more than 70km that can be fired from the truck-like High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launcher.
It is understood the factory might also produce Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike Missile – a next-generation, surface-to-surface weapon designed for the US Army with a range of more than 500km.
Mr Conroy said: “This is a significant milestone and a proud moment for Australia. This will make us more self-reliant and strengthen our national security,” he said.
Defence Minister Richard Marles, who next week will conduct high-level talks in the US, said producing the missiles in Australia demonstrated “both the strength of our alliance with the United States and the capability of Australian industry”.
Premier Peter Malinauskas, who will attend Friday’s factory opening, said SA was already home to the Army’s long-range fires brigade at RAAF Base Edinburgh, so the development put the state “at the heart of efforts to develop a sovereign missile manufacturing capability”.
“Importantly, as the only facility of its kind outside the United States, it will keep Defence at the forefront of missile and munitions technology and help build the skills and experience needed to support this national priority,” he said.
Mr Conroy on Thursday visited BAE Systems Australia’s Adelaide plant for the Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM), a contract which chief executive officer Craig Lockhart said built on “decades of experience delivering domestic and export guided weapon programs”.
BAE last September revealed a $270m deal to significantly boost production of critical components and assemblies for the ESSM – a surface-to-air missile developed to protect warships from advanced anti-ship cruise missiles.
The firm then used The Advertiser’s Defending Australia summit in Canberra in June to reveal more than $25m would be ploughed into expanding its northern suburbs Edinburgh Parks precinct.
Construction of the Port Wakefield missile factory was completed in just under seven months, with 65 per cent of its steel sourced from Whyalla.
Australia plans to produce up to 4000 GMLRS annually, once other factories are operational.
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Originally published as Australia's missile manufacturing capability boosted as Lockheed Martin opens new SA factory
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