The Federal Government’s comprehensive review, due early 2023, will determine how the ADF is positioned to deal with current and future strategic circumstances for Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.
The Defence Strategic Review will deliver a holistic consideration of the ADF’s posture, preparedness and structure to optimise Australia’s ability to meet the nation’s security challenges over this decade and beyond.
In November last year the Thales Australia Mulwala facility received a $6 million investment for the manufacturing of sovereign guided weapons and is expected to bring estimated 25 additional jobs in the coming years.
Thales Australia and Lockheed Martin Australia have now finalised a teaming agreement to facilitate co-operation in the design, development and production of Lockheed Martin’s Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile – Surface Launch (LRASM SL) variant.
The agreement, which will specifically focus on accelerating the development of Australian booster and rocket motor technologies, bolstering the country’s national guided weapons enterprise, directly supports the Commonwealth Government’s objective of expanding the sovereign defence industrial and manufacturing capability.
“This is a step change for future weapons manufacture in Australia – through technology transfer and innovation we see the opportunity to drive the creation of a skilled local workforce, build resiliency in supply chains and help secure Australia’s sovereign defence capabilities for now and into the future,” Lockheed Martin Australia chief executive Joe North said.
Mulwala Site General Manager, Trevor Gunn, said the investment being planned for the Mulwala site to support the ADF and Australian Government is extremely exciting.
“This will have long term benefits for the local community and the site itself,” he told the Yarrawonga Chronicle.
Thales’s investment in new large-scale preparation and mixing equipment will enable a 500% increase in the size of rocket motors able to be manufactured at Mulwala, supporting production of advanced guided weapons and hypersonic weapons.
Building on Thales’s 25-year in-country legacy of manufacturing world-leading sovereign munitions for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and strategic Defence Industry partners, the new equipment will enable manufacture of more than 90% of the ADF’s current strategic rocket propulsion inventory and deliver the capability to manufacture future guided and hypersonic weapon systems.
It represents a significant acceleration and scaling up of Australia’s guided weapons manufacturing capability to produce large rocket motors essential for advanced guided missiles.
On committing to this strategic investment in sovereign manufacturing capability, Thales Australia’s Chief Executive, Chris Jenkins, said; “Thales Australia is a strategic partner of the Australian Defence Force and we are committed to investing in the resources and technology necessary to support the ADF and Australian Government’s ambition to accelerate the creation of a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise, boosting skilled jobs and helping secure Australia’s sovereign defence capabilities”.
Thales Australia is the nation’s largest manufacturer of munitions, propellant and military explosives and manages the government-owned contractor operated (GOCO) sites in Benalla and Mulwala employing over 650 highly skilled people in the development and manufacture of munitions systems for the ADF and allied forces. This investment will support significant growth in defence industry skills and capability.
Thales Australia recently tested the Mulwala-manufactured Jones rocket motor co-designed with Southern Launch, an innovative Australian SME that provides launch services, bespoke rocket subsystems and operates the Koonibba Test Range.
The Koonibba Test Range is Australia’s first licenced launch site for overland suborbital rocket testing.
The Jones rocket motor is a small-scale research test motor that supports development and understanding of energetic materials to support programs including LRASM.
Dion Habner, Managing Director of Australia Munitions said the rocket motor firing was a core risk mitigation step in a joint program with Southern Launch to expand Australia’s sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability.
“This represents a critical milestone in the return to routine rocket motor manufacturing at the Mulwala munitions facility.
“In the late 1990s advanced warhead and rocket motor facilities were established at Mulwala and since then advanced warheads, military rocket motors and ignition systems have been safely manufactured on site.
“Every day, high explosives and propellants are produced for systems used by Australian and allied forces, including the explosive effectors for GBU-12 aerial laser-guided bombs.
“Testing activities are a routine part of operations in Australia’s sovereign munition manufacturing facility at Mulwala.”
The Federal Government’s Defence Strategic Review is led by two Independent Review Leads: former Minister for Defence, Professor the Hon Stephen Smith and Air Chief Marshal Sir Argus Houston AK, AFC (Ret’d) former Chief of ADF.
Australia, the UK and the US are also examining the full suite of requirements that underpin the delivery of the nuclear-powered submarines.
The confidential and sensitive discussions with our AUKUS partners through the Nuclear Powered Submarine Taskforce are progressing rapidly.
The Defence Strategic Review will help ensure Australia maximises the potential of this and other AUKUS partnership initiatives in Australia’s best strategic interest.
The Independent Leads will present the Defence Strategic Review and its recommendations in early 2023.
Written submissions can be made online at https://www.defence.gov.au/about/reviews-inquiries/defence-strategic-review.
