Weapons / Munitions

THE LEADER IN GUIDED WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE

Victoria is the nation’s leader in the design and manufacture of ammunition, propellants and military pyrotechnics.

Victoria hosts key defence Guided Weapon and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) infrastructure including one of Australia’s two locations for munition manufacturing (Benalla) and storage and distribution facilities in Mangalore, HMAS Cerberus and Point Wilson. Victoria also hosts GWEO test and evaluation capabilities at the Proof and Experimental Establishment in Graytown.

Victoria’s extensive capabilities mean that it is well placed to supply advanced weapons systems to support major projects identified in the Commonwealth Government’s 2020 Force Structure Plan such as long-range anti-ship and land strike weapons and extended range surface-to-air missiles for the Commonwealth Government’s Sovereign GWEO Enterprise.

EXPERTISE

Victoria’s proven guided weapons and explosive ordnance capabilities include:

• Missiles and missile decoys
• Artillery, cannon and small arms ammunition
• Grenades
• Improvised Electronic Device (IED) countermeasures
• Pyrotechnics

INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS

Victoria is home to a number of leading companies with GWEO related capabilities.

Thales Australia is the largest supplier of explosive ordnance to the Australian Defence Force. The company’s Benalla facility in conjunction with Mulwala produces a wide range of ammunition, explosive ordnance and other munitions. NIOA has also established operations at the Commonwealth-owned facility in Benalla to manufacture a range of munitions for the Australian Defence Force and for export. The Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions joint venture will also produce ammunition for the F-35 programme in Benalla.

BAE Systems has a Melbourne-based aerospace facility which designs advanced naval air defence systems like the Nulka Active Missile Decoy and the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile System, both major export success stories. BAE manufactures elements of the Nulka weapon system in Victoria. The Nulka Active Missile Decoy is the most sophisticated defence system against anti-ship missiles available for the protection of surface warships. It is currently deployed on over 150 Australian, US and Canadian warships.

Aquaterro is a key supplier of operational, tactical, and protective equipment to the Australian Defence Force and operates a 100-meter-long indoor firing range at its facility in Pakenham. This is the only such private facility in Australia.

Chemring Australia manufactures and supplies a range of air and sea launched countermeasures and is Australia’s leading designer and manufacturer of specialised military pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic countermeasures and special purpose devices. The company also develops systems in electronic warfare, Counter-Improvised Explosive devices and Explosive Ordnance Disposal and undertakes research and development tasks for the Defence Science and Technology Group.