Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay.
Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions.
“Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.”
Photo: Reuters
Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make “guided multiple launch rocket systems [GMLRS],” he said, one of the first such facilities outside the US.
The US$200 million “advanced weapons manufacturing complex” would eventually produce up to 4,000 missiles per 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, but in a world marked by crisis and disorder, a well-equipped military is an essential part of national defense,” Conroy said. “In this environment, Australia needs credible military capability to support a strategy of deterrence by denial.”
The announcement follows China’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Pacific, the first such test in four decades.
Concerns about China’s massive defense spending and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led many US allies to voice concern about a shortfall in munitions manufacturing capabilities.
Australia is among several Asia-Pacific nations dramatically increasing defense spending. In April, it unveiled a defense strategy that envisaged a sharp rise in spending to counter its vulnerability to foes interrupting trade or preventing access to vital air and sea routes.
Besides developing its surface fleet, Australia plans to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered submarines in an agreement with the US and the UK known as AUKUS.
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