Australia will start manufacturing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles this month after the opening of a new factory in Port Wakefield, South Australia. This has been completed through a partnership between Lockheed Martin Australia (Lockheed Martin) and Defence.
“It reaffirms our defence partnership with the United States, including our growing collaboration on guided weapons and explosive ordnance, and will equip our ADF with long-range strike capability that will help keep Australians safe," Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, stated.
Lockheed Martin and Defence will commence production of GMLRS missiles at the facility by the end of 2025. The new facility will see Australian production of GMLRS All Up Rounds and Launch Pod Containers.
“Starting missile production in Australia this year is a major step in building the industrial strength our nation needs. It’s about creating advanced manufacturing capability that will serve Australia for decades to come," Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, highlighted.
The GMLRS missile is a precision strike weapon launched from the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) recently acquired under the Australian Army’s long-range fires project.
"The opening of this GMLRS manufacturing facility in Port Wakefield represents a transformative milestone in U.S.-Australia defence cooperation," Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Army for Defense Exports & Cooperation (DASA DE&C), Patrick Mason, said.
The announcement has also marked a milestone in Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise plan, meeting the production schedule outlined by the government last year.
“The completion of this state-of-the-art facility marks a key milestone for the Australian Government’s GWEO Enterprise. By establishing domestic production of GMLRS, we are strengthening sovereign capability, ensuring full compatibility with U.S. inventories," Vice President, Tactical Missiles, Lockheed Martin, Paula Hartley, said.
The factory – designed and built by Intract Australia, an Indigenous-owned and -operated company – was completed in just under seven months.
The Port Wakefield factory will be only the second facility in the world to produce GMLRS outside Lockheed Martin’s facility in Camden, Arkansas. The first cohort of Australian workers has successfully completed training at the Camden facility.
This project forms part of the Government’s investment of up to $21 billion over the decade to acquire more long-range strike systems and manufacture longer-range munitions in Australia.
For the past year, a team of Australian engineers have undergone specialised training at Lockheed Martin’s missile production facilities in the US. With their newfound skills and experience, these engineers worked with their US and Australian colleagues to fit-out the Port Wakefield facility. A facility that will assemble the first tranche of GMLRS All Up Rounds and Launch Pod Containers – for the first time outside the US.