Defence publishes GWEO plan, commits to GMLRS and M795 manufacture

The Australian Department of Defence has unveiled its blueprint to rapidly deliver missile manufacturing in Australia and accelerate the acquisition of long‑range strike over the next decade. It has also committed to local manufacture of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) and the 155mm M795 artillery round.

The 2024 Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Plan demonstrates the Government’s commitment to sovereign manufacturing capability and keeping Australians safe, says Defence.

“In the 18-months since release of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, we have made considerable progress to expand and accelerate long-range strike capabilities for the ADF, getting capability into the hands of the war fighter sooner,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles.

Enhancing Australian strike capability and preparedness is a priority under the 2024 National Defence Strategy and the 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy (DIDS). The GWEO Plan, says Defence, provides certainty to Australian Defence industry on its role to boost the domestic manufacture of missiles and munitions and support the uplift of GWEO stockpiles in Australia. This priority is backed with  up to $21 billion of investment over the decade, representing five per cent of the Integrated Investment Program (IIP).

“The 2024 Australian GWEO Plan will provide defence industry with the clarity and confidence it needs to help increase defence materiel resilience and sovereign capability,” said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery. “Our industry partnerships are essential to uplift Australia’s stockpiles and resilience and meet increasing demands.”

Taking into account investments in targeting and long-range strike, as well as missile defence, the Government says it has committed $58-$74 billion in the IIP over the decade towards capabilities that integrate with GWEO.

The Government has already announced key capability investments set out in the 2024 Australian GWEO Plan, including:

• $850 million in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture and maintain the Naval Strike Missile and the Joint Strike Missile from 2027 at a new facility to be built at Williamtown, near Newcastle
• $37.4 million in partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia to enable an initial batch of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) missiles to be manufactured in Australia from 2025
• A $7 billion agreement with the United States to acquire the Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC (SM-2 IIIC) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) long-range missiles
• $142 million for the accelerated acquisition of the Joint Strike Missile, to be delivered from 2025
• up to $60 million over five years to develop hypersonic and long-range strike capabilities
• $22 million over three years to seek options from industry to establish a manufacturing complex for the production of rocket motors in Australia

Defence also confirmed its commitment to an Australian facility, in partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia, to manufacture Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles, and announced that Thales Australia is the preferred tenderer to build a new forge for 155mm M795 artillery ammunition.

GMLRS is a long-range surface-to-surface precision strike capability that can be fired from High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HiMARS) launchers. The new facility will enable Australia to produce viable volumes of GMLRS for global consumption, as reaffirmed at the 2024 Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) Consultations. It will be capable of producing up to 4,000 GMLRS each year from 2029. This represents more than a quarter of the current global production and more than 10 times the current ADF demand.

Site assessments for the new Australian GMLRS manufacturing facility are underway, with the factory to be operational by 2029.

Thales Australia, which operates the Government-owned ammunition and propellant mixing and filling factories at Mulwala and Benalla, will manufacture 155mm M795 artillery ammunition which is used by Australia, the United States and other international partners for the M777A2 Light Towed Howitzer, a critical close-fires capability.

Defence will work with Thales Australia as the preferred company to build, establish and commission the forge at the  Benalla Munitions Facility. The forge will produce 15,000 rounds each year by 2028, with the capacity to manufacture up to 100,000 for global consumption. It will also be the first dedicated forge outside of the United States that will manufacture 155mm M795 artillery ammunition.

Both projects are part of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise,  backed by an investment of up to $21 billion over the next decade.