Australia’s Guided Missile Manufacturing Plan Gets a Boost
The plan for guided missile manufacture has received a significant boost from the Labor government, a move hailed as “very positive” by Professor Peter Dean, the USSC Foreign Policy and Defence Director.
The government’s announcement underlines an important step towards domestic manufacturing and acquisition of guided weapons. This initiative is expected to be a pivotal part of Australia’s developing defense and security strategy.
“The guided weapons enterprise is a key pillar of the strategy that’s embedded within the Defence Strategic Review that the government has adopted,” Professor Dean said in an interview.
This initiative complements other programs like AUKUS, as well as various capability development programs, all aimed at strengthening Australia’s defense and security posture.
Recent global events like the conflict in Ukraine have demonstrated the importance of these particular capabilities. The prism missiles and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles, which are launched out of HMAS batteries, have proved to be essential on the battlefield.
However, the ability to manufacture these domestically is seen as key to Australia’s sovereign defense capability. “As we’ve seen from the lessons from Ukraine, for instance, that not only are these particular capabilities… particularly important on the battlefield, the ability to manufacture them domestically is absolutely key to Australia’s sovereign defence capability,” Professor Dean emphasized.
The domestic manufacture of guided weapons, originally slated for 2027, has been expedited to commence within two years following an allocation of A$2.5 billion. This initiative, backed by the Albanese Government, will see Australia start manufacturing GMLRS missiles from 2025.
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