Australia to Build 4,000 Missiles Annually Under New US Partnership

Udumbara Udumbara
Oct 17, 2025 - 09:58 Updated: Oct 16, 2025 - 15:45
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Australia to Build 4,000 Missiles Annually Under New US Partnership

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Australia and the United States are to begin the joint manufacture of guided weapons, including strike missiles, at a new local manufacturing facility in Newcastle.

The facility, in Williamtown near the RAAF base, is estimated to have the capacity to produce 4,000 units every year.

The Albanese government had already committed to spending up to $21 billion over the next decade to establish a sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) programme, which it says will boost the country’s industrial capacity and support thousands of jobs.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the facility, which will be operated by a partnership between Australia, the U.S. Department of War, and defence giant Lockheed Martin, should be operational by the end of this year.

It will begin by making Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), which have a maximum range beyond 500 kilometres. More advanced weapons will be built in the future.

A second facility is under construction near Newcastle where Naval Strike and Joint Strike Missiles will be produced from 2027 in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia.

The three partners signed a Statement of Intent and announced the opening of a new joint office in Huntsville, Alabama to enhance bilateral cooperation during the project.

“The signing ... marks a significant milestone in Australia’s efforts to build a sovereign GWEO Enterprise,” Conroy said. “It also represents a deepening of our strategic partnership with the United States and shared commitment to building a resilient, interoperable and sovereign capability.

‘[It] also acknowledges that for guided weapons manufacturing in Australia to be a viable and sustainable capability, Australia will need to produce guided weapon quantities beyond the demands of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It also recognises the Australian government’s objective to manufacture guided weapons that could be integrated into the U.S.-led global supply chain.”

Conroy told Sky News there is a “global backlog of production of missiles … in response to the strategic circumstances.”

He said Australia will retain “hundreds” of the domestically-built missiles each year for use by the ADF, while surplus weapons will be on-sold to close allies.

“The plan will be to produce missiles that will then go and support the needs of the U.S. or other partners. This is about making Australia safer by equipping the Australian army with long-range strike [capability], but also contributing to allies and partners around the world,” he said.

The announcement comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Oct. 20.

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