Defence to invest $508 million in Orchard Hills weapons precinct

Defence will invest $508 million in the construction of new explosive ordnance storage and the redevelopment of base facilities at Orchard Hills in Western Sydney.

The investment, part of the $21 billion Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) plan, supports the commitment in the 2024 National Defence Strategy to increasing Australia’s guided weapons and explosive ordnance holdings. It will see construction company ADCO Constructions provide guided weapons and explosive ordnance storage buildings at a value of $210 million, with construction expected to be completed in 2027.

Another construction firm, Hansen Yuncken, will upgrade the Defence Establishment Orchard Hills, including for security and infrastructure and new training and working facilities, at a value of $298 million, with construction completion expected in early 2029.

“Anyone who’s seen conflict around the world, particularly in Ukraine, understands the high dependence on guided weapons, on missiles, and the huge wait time as the rest of the world re-arms,” said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry. “That’s why the $21 billion we’ve allocated to GWEO is so important.” As part of that, Defence has invested more than $13 billion over the past five years in the acquisition and manufacture of long-range guided missiles for the ADF.

“I announced late last year that we’d begun making missiles in this country. That occurred in 2025,” Conroy continued. “Our second missile factory will come online in 2027, and our third around 2030.”

The Lockheed Martin Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missile is now in production at a new factory near the ADF’s Proof and Experimental Establishment in Port Wakefield, South Australia; Kongsberg will start manufacturing the ship- and surface-launched Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and the air-launched Joint Strike Missile (JSM) at a new factory adjacent to RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle; and in about 2030 Defence plans to open its Australian Weapons Manufacturing Complex (AWMC) which will see the manufacture of GMLRS, the Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and as-yet undisclosed other weapons.

“A critical part of that is the ability to test and certify our missiles, our ability to maintain those missiles and store those missiles as we’re investing billions of dollars in increasing our stocks of these missiles,” Conroy said. The Orchard Hills facility is the premier guided weapons facility in the country, doing assembly, test and certification and maintenance of the ADF’s guided weapons, he said.

The Orchard Hills facility maintains and stores a range of guided weapons, including the AIM-9X Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, both of which are used by the RAAF, and the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), and SM-2 missile which are used by the RAN. All are manufactured in the USA by Raytheon and last year Orchard Hills carried out maintenance on a US Navy SM-2 missile and then delivered it back to its ship.

At Orchard Hills missiles are either brought in or taken out of storage and broken down to major components. Technicians do electronics testing to make sure all the components are working properly, build the missiles back up again and send them back out or put them back into storage. The NSM and JSM will be transported, after their various sections have been manufactured, to Orchard Hills where they’ll undergo final assembly: the body of the missile will be connected to the explosive warhead and the rocket motor.

Defence’s investment is designed to modernise the facility, increase its security, increasing workshop space, and build 14 new earth-covered bunkers to store the ADF’s increased weapons holdings.

Australia’s plan is to export both the NSM/JSM and the GMLRS. “Our plan is to make those available for sale to allies and like-minded countries,” said Conroy, pointing out that the new GMLRS factory in Port Wakefield has a capacity of 4,000 rounds a year, even though current Australian Army demand is for about 300 rounds a year.

Similarly, he said, the NSM and JSM factory at Williamtown “will have double the scale we need because we intend to make these available for like-minded countries,” he said. “We’re doing what’s called co-production and co-sustainment because that means more jobs for Australians and more support for our allies.”

The Orchard Hills base currently employs approximately 700 people, including contractors and Defence personnel. “It’s here because we need access to a very large workforce to staff the facility,” pointed out Conroy. “It’s also got excellent transport connections through road and rail links.”