Sovereign Guided Weapons Manufacturing

Able Seaman Aviation Technician Avionics Matthew Dockrill conducts a routine inspection between the after body and fuel cell of a MK48 Heavyweight torpedo in the Torpedo Maintenance Facility at the Navy Guided Weapons Systems Program Office-West on HMAS Stirling.

The Chief of Joint Capabilities has been appointed as the capability manager for the national guided weapons enterprise to ensure this strategic capability is “leveraged”across the ADF and beyond.

The $1 billion Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise will support missile and guided weapons manufacturing for use across the Australian Defence Force.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said creating a sovereign defence industrial capability was a key priority for the Government while also creating new opportunities for jobs and small business growth.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, having the ability for self-reliance, be it vaccine development or the defence of Australia, is vital to meeting our own requirements in a changing global environment.

“It’s an imperative we now proceed with the creation of a sovereign guided weapons capability as a priority, accelerating this process following the idea first being explored in the Force Structure Plan.”

The Department of Defence will now use a Smart Buyer process to select an experienced strategic industry partner to operate a sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability.

The mandate is to manufacture a suite of precision weapons that will meet Australia’s growing needs and provide export opportunities as a second source of supply.

“The manufacturing and supply of weapons in Australia will not only benefit and enhance our ADF operational capacity but will ensure we have adequate supply of weapon stock holdings to sustain combat operations if global supply chains are disrupted,” Minister Dutton said.

According to defence industry estimates this new national enterprise could be worth$40 billion in local production and export over the next 20 years, while also creatingover 2,000 jobs in different locations across the nation.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has forecast that Australia will spend $100billion in the next 20 years on missile and guided weapons purchases.

Initial applications will be limited to the Translation and Integration streams ofthe Modern Manufacturing Initiative, with expressions of interest for the largerCollaboration stream to open in coming months.