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Minister of Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy has officially unveiled the government’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Plan to accelerate domestic manufacturing.
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Announced by Minister Pat Conroy at an address to the National Press Club, this plan builds on the 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy and will enhance Australia’s strike capability and preparedness.
The $16–21 billion GWEO Plan 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 and represents 5 per cent of the Integrated Investment Program’s total budget.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said, “The 2024 Australian GWEO Plan demonstrates the Albanese government’s long-term commitment to keeping Australians safe and investing in local manufacturing of cutting-edge capabilities for our Defence Forces.”
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.
- $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.
“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 warfighter sooner,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Minister Conroy expanded on these comments, saying, “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.”
As part of the announcement, Minister Conroy confirmed that the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart Class destroyers would field the proposed 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles by the end of the year, providing an increase in the Navy’s strike range by 10 times.
Building on this, Minister Conroy confirmed the government’s commitment to an Australian manufacturing facility in partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia to domestically manufacture the GMLRS missiles.
The government has already commenced site assessments, with plans for the facility to be operational by 2029, along with the capacity to manufacture a range of weapons and contribute production capacity to Australia’s trusted partners in the region and beyond.
Minister Conroy said, “Our industry partnerships are essential to uplift Australia’s stockpiles and resilience and meet increasing demands.”
Defence is continuing to work with industry and international partners to strengthen Australia’s munitions stockpiles and the industrial base for domestic manufacture of guided weapons and explosive ordnance.
More to come.
