Australia has said it will jointly manufacture long-range missiles with Norway’s Kongsberg Defence in Newcastle, Australia. This includes Naval Strike Missiles and Joint Strike Missiles..
The Australian government will contribute $574 million to establish a manufacturing facility with Kongsberg, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy confirmed. The production will begin in 2027, he said.
He added that the Australian Defence Force would use the anti-ship cruise missiles. the U.S. security ally will also be exporting it. It will be one of only two facilities in the world capable of producing the missiles, and the only site outside Kongsberg, Norway.
INDO-PACIFIC TENSIONS
Amid rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, Australia aims to boost the Australian Defence Force’s long-range precision strike ability. Hence it said it will establish guided weapons manufacturing in a defence overhaul.
“There is huge global demand and constraints on the supply chain around the world. So it is cost-competitive to build them here and it will actually deliver the missiles faster than relying on overseas production,” Conroy said.
The Naval Strike Missile is being used by the U.S. Marines to equip land-based trucks for anti-ship capability, Conroy said.
“We will have the capacity not just to sustain and refurbish our missiles. We can potentially do that for United States forces who might be positioned in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
For half the year, over 2,000 U.S. Marines have a rotational presence in northern Australia.
The weapons bay of the F-34 fighter jet can only carry the Joint Strike Missile. Australia currently have two F-35 stealth fighter squadrons.. They are based at Williamtown near Newcastle and at RAAF Base Tindal in northern Australia, which is being upgraded by the US to also host its bomber aircraft.
In the Indo Pacific region, Japan and South Korea have F-35 squadrons while Singapore has ordered the fighter jet.
Australia is also developing a hypersonic missile with the United States.
