Guided multiple launch rocket systems (GMLRS) are now being manufactured in Australia, bolstering resilience and reducing reliance on international supply chains.

Production operations have begun at the new manufacturing facility in Port Wakefield, South Australia, with the first batch expected to be completed by mid-March this year.

This is the first facility outside of the United States to produce GMLRS.

The government plans to establish a separate high-rate facility to meet the long-term goal of 4000 missiles per year by 2029.

Sovereign manufacturing ensures that Australia can maintain its own missile production during conflict, even if global supply chains are disrupted.

Director General Guided Weapons Production Capability Brigadier Jim Hunter said it represented a move towards increased sovereign capability.

“In the past, we've largely bought our weapons off the shelf, with orders taking years to arrive,” he said.

“Our intention is to ensure we are building guided weapons to the exact same standard as the weapons rolling off the production lines in the US.”

'By having the capacity for the domestic manufacture of these weapons, Australia will have increased its resilience and ability to hold adversaries at risk.'

The GMLRS are the primary weapon for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, with a range of 70 kilometres.

Unlike standard rockets, they feature guidance kits and control systems for course correction and precision fires at range.

Plans are to eventually manufacture the Precision Strike Missile, a more advanced weapon with future increments capable of striking targets over 1000 kilometres away.

The initial phase of GMLRS production is a risk-reduction activity to certify process, training, equipment and techniques.

While the parts are initially coming from the United States, plans are in place to manufacture the components locally to achieve a fulsome domestic guided weapons manufacturing capability.

“We have programs engaging with Australian industry to start building the parts, so that we get to a point where we could manufacture guided weapons from tip to tail,” Brigadier Hunter said.

The guided weapons production capability is one of the five major manufacturing initiatives. It is part of a broader investment of up to $21 billion in the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance enterprise over the next decade.

Brigadier Hunter said that the Defence Strategic Review made recommendations around increasing our investment in long range strikes as a key way of deterring potential conflict.

“By having the capacity for the domestic manufacture of these weapons, Australia will have increased its resilience and ability to hold adversaries at risk, thus enabling the deterrence effects that underpin the National Defence Strategy,” he said.