The first batch of missiles to be made in Australia as part of the Albanese government’s flagship weapons build-up will be assembled largely from overseas parts instead of relying on locally produced components, sparking warnings from the defence industry against permanently adopting an “IKEA” approach.
In his first speech as the government’s “missiles tsar”, Air Marshal Leon Phillips said local production of missiles would begin in 2025 after a $2.5 billion injection following the Defence Strategic Review (DSR).
Australia plans to produce missiles locally by 2025. AP
“This is an ambitious goal,” Air Marshal Phillips told the Australian Industry and Defence Network annual dinner in Canberra on Wednesday night.
“Our initial planning suggests it’s feasible, and we now have the resources to get after it at speed.”
Air Marshal Phillips was promoted to become the Chief of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance enterprise, or GWEO, five weeks ago, following a recommendation of the DSR.
The DSR criticised the lack of progress following the Morrison government’s announcement in March 2021 that it would fast-track the establishment of a local missile industry.
The sweeping report put a heavy emphasis on building up stockpiles of missiles, particularly for long-range strike capability, as part of a strategy of deterring conflict with China.
The government has named US defence giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as “strategic partners” for the venture. But despite the need for urgency, options for manufacturing and building up stocks will not be finalised until the second quarter of 2024.
Air Marshal Phillips told the dinner he expected some elements of this plan would be done earlier than that.
A ‘solid foundation’
But he cautioned while Australia already had a “solid foundation” for making missiles locally, including producing explosives, propellants and non-guided bombs, in the early stages there would be a reliance on foreign supply chains.
“While domestic manufacturing of guided weapons might initially start with assembly of imported important components, that is just a necessary stepping stone and certainly not the end state,” he said.
“I am confident we can begin manufacturing missiles in Australia by 2025, perhaps at a modest rate first and then accelerating over the second half of the decade.”
Air Marshal Phillips’ admission about assembling missiles from overseas-made components in the short-term, while unsurprising, comes at a sensitive time for the local defence industry, which is worried that the need for acquiring weapons more quickly than the DSR flagged could see them shut out in favour of off-the-shelf foreign military equipment.
Australian Industry and Defence Network chief executive Brent Clark, who represents homegrown small and medium defence companies, said the industry would hold the government to account to ensure missile contracts flowed through to local manufacturing over time.
“Definitely we can’t allow this to be like an IKEA kit that we just assemble,” he said.
“We understand the first batch will require a lot of overseas input, but we fully expect the government will transfer as much activity into the local industrial base going forward.”
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the guided weapons enterprise would be “incredibly important for the defence of the nation and Australian industry”.
Local defence industry wants to see missile jobs and manufacturing in Australia - The Australian Financial Review
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