CHRISTCHURCH, News Zealand — Australia and the local subsidiary of Norway-based Kongsberg will establish a new missile production in the country, as the company joins other global munitions players in a multibillion-dollar, local push to ramp up munitions production.
Construction of the new factory is slated to commence before year’s end, producing and servicing Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and Joint Strike Missiles (JSM).
Canberra is contributing up to A$850 million – around US$578 million – to the project. Employing 100 people, the Kongsberg factory will be located at the airport precinct in Newcastle, New South Wales – the first such plant outside of Norway.
A Kongsberg Defence Australia spokesperson told Defense News: “It’ll take approximately 18 months to build, and we expect the factory to be complete in Q2 2026.”
At that point it will go through a commissioning and certification process, with “the commencement of missile manufacturing from 2027, ramping up the capability for full-rate production by the end of 2028.”
The new plant will primarily make weapons for the Australian forces, but the company expects to have enough capacity later on for other clients in the region, according to the spokesman.
Eirik Lie, president of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, said the expansion follows “strong international demand” for the company’s strike missiles
Although the JSM has yet to be ordered by Australia’s Air Force, the government’s so-called Integrated Investment Program stated it is exploring options for putting the weapon on F-35A fighter jets.
Meanwhile, the NSM is replacing Harpoon missiles on Australian Anzac-class frigates and Hobart-class destroyers under a deal signed in December 2022. Incidentally, an Australian destroyer fired an NSM for the first time during the RIMPAC 2024 exercise in July.
The missile factory announcement coincided with the news that Kongsberg Defence Australia would join Lockheed Martin Australia and Raytheon Australia as a third strategic partner in the government’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise.
Established last year, GWEO is the agency charged with expanding Australia’s sovereign weapons production capacity.
The program has prioritized four weapons for Australian production so far: the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, Evolved SeaSparrow Missile, 155mm artillery ammunition, and the NSM.
“This is about investing in our advanced, high-tech manufacturing industry and developing our sovereign defense industrial base in areas which have been identified as strategic priorities, which in turn means we can accelerate capability delivery” to the country’s armed forces, Australia’s minister overseeing the defense industry, Pat Conroy, said.
Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.
