THALES WELCOMES GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT TO LONG RANGE STRIKE
Thales Australia strongly welcomes the Albanese Government鈥檚 announcement of a $37.4 million contract with Lockheed Martin Australia to see manufacturing of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) from 2025 in Australia, said CEO Thales Australia Jeff Connolly.
鈥淭his is big news for a sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability 鈥 it鈥檚 great to see Government commitment and congratulations to Lockheed Martin鈥 said Mr Connolly.
鈥淲e at Thales stand ready to support this important national defence capability 鈥 we are deeply invested in domestic guided weapons capability.
鈥淔rom rocket motor development, propulsion and payload, we want to do our part to help Government and our industry partners realise the vision by 2025.
鈥淵esterday鈥檚 announcement is a crucial step forward,鈥 Mr Connolly said.
In 2021 Thales Australia invested $6 million in new state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing equipment at the Commonwealth owned Mulwala facility in regional New South Wales, to rapidly accelerate sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability.
The company鈥檚 investment in new large-scale preparation and mixing equipment will enable a 500% increase in the size of rocket motors able to be manufactured at Mulwala, supporting production of advanced guided weapons and hypersonic weapons.
Thales Australia is the nation鈥檚 largest manufacturer of munitions, propellant and military explosives and manages the government owned contractor operated (GOCO) sites in Benalla, Victoria and Mulwala, New South Wales employing over 650 skilled staff to manufacture munitions systems for the ADF and allied forces.
About Thales in Australia
Thales in Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force and is also present in commercial sectors ranging from air traffic management and ground transport systems to security systems and services.
Thales in Australia employs over 4,300 people directly and supports over 2,051 job along its Australian supply chain. Since 2018 Thales Australia has spent over $1.9 billion with local Australian businesses.