Long-range missiles to be built in new weapons facility
Australia will build long-range strike missiles designed to destroy ships.
The naval and joint-strike missiles will be made locally after the federal government entered an $850 million partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to build a weapons factory near Newcastle.
Construction of the facility will begin before the end of 2024 and is expected to create 500 new jobs during the building phase and employ about 100 people once complete.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.It will be capable of manufacturing more than 100 missiles per year when it reaches full capacity in 2028.
The projectiles weigh about 400kg and each will cost about $4 million.
Though the weapons are designed to identify and destroy enemy ships, they have a land attack feature that could take out buildings.
The Kongsberg factory will initially help Australia build its weapons stockpile, but Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says its missiles could be exported overseas to United States forces in the Indo-Pacific.
“This investment is about keeping Australians safe in an uncertain global environment, creating local jobs and supporting a future made in Australia,” he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“We’ve laid out the blueprint for a larger and more lethal Navy surface combatant force.”
Naval strike missiles were test-fired from destroyer HMAS Sydney in July as part of Exercise RIMPAC 2024, the world’s largest international maritime exercise.
Kongsberg Defence’s facility in Norway was the first in the world to produce Naval Strike Missiles and Joint Strike Missiles.
