Thales Australia has been named as one of five prospective anchor tenants for the Western Defence Forge, using its experience in enduring advanced manufacturing, guided weapons and explosive ordnance to work with the WA Government to deliver a new facility to forge 155mm artillery munitions and assemble missiles in Western Australia.
The new facility will be specifically-designed to support exports to global markets while drawing on the existing Commonwealth-owned, Thales-operated guided weapons and explosive ordnance footprint in Benalla.
"Being selected as a prospective anchor tenant is an important step towards building new sovereign manufacturing capability and creating enduring opportunities for Australian industry," Thales Australia and New Zealand, CEO, Jeff Connolly, said.
"The Cook Government defence manufacturing hub has the potential to become a nationally significant defence industrial precinct, creating skilled jobs and supporting regional growth by leveraging Thales’ proven track record of turning Australian innovation and manufacturing expertise into world-leading capabilities such as the Bushmaster and energetics products that succeed in global export markets.
"We welcome the opportunity to work with the Western Australian Government to unlock new opportunities for industry, investment and exports that deliver lasting benefits for Western Australia and the nation."
Thales seeks to build on its position as a trusted partner of Defence and the Commonwealth to join the WA Government’s mission to drive investment, create skilled jobs, and strengthen Australia’s sovereign industrial capability.
This partnership represents a unique opportunity to establish a nationally-significant defence industrial precinct in Western Australia that would expand Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) capacity, improve regional supply chain resilience, and position WA as a globally competitive defence manufacturing and export centre.
Building on lessons learnt and the success of the Bushmaster, Thales sees the potential to leverage Australia’s growing experience in munitions and guided weapons to build sovereign capability at home, while opening new export markets with trusted international partners.
Western Australia’s strategic location as Australia’s gateway to the Indian Ocean and South East Asia makes it an ideal hub for defence production.
With Defence’s increasing focus on northern and western force posture, a resilient industrial presence in WA is becoming increasingly important.
The state is also well positioned to export munitions to support global rearmament initiatives, serving as a key logistics point between hemispheres and contributing to allied supply chains across the Indo-Pacific and into Europe.
The proposal includes development of a 155mm forging capability to help meet growing global demand for this critical munition, drawing on Thales’ role as a Strategic GWEO Partner to the Commonwealth and decades of experience in energetics.
It would also introduce missile integration, test and acceptance functions based on proven Thales UK technology, including significant transfer of technology, knowledge and production capability for advanced air defence and counter-UAS solutions.