Australia and the United States had already collaborated to develop a hypersonic missile under the SCIFIRE program [Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment] prior to the signing of the AUKUS accord with the United Kingdom in September 2021.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is anticipated to receive HACM (Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missiles) in the near future, which was developed in the United States by RTX and equipped with a scramjet engine supplied by Northrop Grumman, as a result of this collaboration. This was verified by the defense and foreign ministers of both nations in a joint statement that was published on August 6. The possibility of a co-production of this munition is also not excluded.
In the meantime, Australia plans to manufacture cruise missiles on its own territory. Consequently, on August 22, an agreement was achieved with the Norwegian company Kongsberg.
According to Australia’s Minister for Defense Industry, Pat Conroy, Canberra, and Kongsberg Defence Australia will invest about 552.5 million USD to build a factory in Newcastle (north of Sydney, in New South Wales), which is expected to have the capacity to produce up to a hundred NSM (Naval Strike Missile) and JSM (Joint Strike Missile) annually.
This factory “will manufacture and maintain NSM and JSM used by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It will be one of only two facilities in the world capable of producing NSM and JSM, the other site being located in Kongsberg, Norway,” explained the Australian Ministry of Defense.
The construction of this factory, set to begin this year, is part of the GWEO project (Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance), which could benefit from an investment of about 13.65 billion USD between 2024 and 2034. It addresses the priorities of the 2024 National Defense Strategy, which aims to both develop the long-range strike capability of the ADF and manufacture munitions in Australia, the ministry noted.
With a range of about 200 km, the NSM anti-ship missiles, which can also be used against land targets, will replace the RGM-84 Harpoons on the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers and Anzac-class frigates. In July, HMAS Sydney fired such a missile for the first time during the 2024 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.
As for the JSM, it is a derivative of the NSM, designed for use by the F-35A fighter-bomber. It can reach a target located 500 km away.
The construction of this factory in Newcastle will make “Australia more self-reliant” and allow it to “increase its munitions stocks” while “supporting the local economy.” Once it is inaugurated, it is expected to employ about 100 people and generate 100 million dollars in economic benefits.
“This is about investing in our high-tech manufacturing industry and developing our sovereign defense industrial base in areas that have been identified as strategic priorities,” said Mr. Conroy.
