Australia launches plan to build long-range guided missiles

According to a plan announced Wednesday by a top defence official, Australia would increase missile production, which he said will help deter potential enemies.

Australia will create a domestic sector to manufacture long-range guided missiles and other desperately needed weaponry, according to Defence sector Minister Pat Conroy.

“Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” he said in a speech.

“That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.”

Australia will partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make “guided multiple launch rocket systems (GMLRS)”, Conroy said, one of the first such facilities outside the United States.

The US$200 million “advanced weapons manufacturing complex” would eventually produce up to 4,000 missiles each year.

“This equates to more than a quarter of current global GMLRS production and more than 10 times current Australian Defence Force demand,” Conroy said.

Australia had also contracted French weapons maker Thales to domestically manufacture M795 artillery rounds, which are commonly used in howitzer batteries.

“We all wish that acquiring new weapons and munitions was not necessary,” Conroy said.

“But in a world marked by crisis and disorder, a well-equipped military is an essential part of national defence.

“In this environment, Australia needs credible military capability to support a strategy of deterrence by denial.”

The news comes after China just conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test in forty years in the Pacific.

Many US allies have expressed concern about a lack of weapons manufacturing skills as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s enormous defence spending.

Australia is one of several countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have significantly increased their defence expenditures.

In order to combat its vulnerability to enemies disrupting trade or blocking access to crucial air and sea routes, Australia announced a military policy in April that called for a significant increase in investment.

In a tripartite agreement with the United States and Britain known as AUKUS, Australia intends to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered submarines in addition to quickly expanding its surface force.