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Kongsberg Defence Australia has signed a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia to establish Australia’s first missile manufacturing factory in Newcastle, NSW.
The contract, with the subsidiary of Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen, follows Australia’s decision to invest in the construction of a new factory to manufacture and maintain the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for the Australian Defence Force and international partners.
Preparatory site works have concluded with construction expected to be completed in 2026 with missile manufacturing commencing in 2027.
“This is a huge milestone for Kongsberg in Australia, with the Kongsberg Missile Factory (KMF) expected to employ around 100 people in Newcastle,” said John Fry, managing director of Kongsberg Defence Australia.
“Kongsberg will be the first company to build a missile factory in Australia, and that is something that we are all very proud of.
“The facility will be based on the new missile factory in Norway, the most advanced missile manufacturing facility in the world. We will be building and maintaining some of the ADF’s most important strike weapons; a huge privilege that comes with great responsibility.”
The NSM anti-ship missile was developed by Kongsberg and first deployed in 2012 by the Norwegian Navy.
The air-launched JSM is currently being integrated onto the F-35A, where it can be carried in the internal weapons bay of the aircraft. The NSM has been selected by 14 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. The JSM has so far been selected by Norway, Japan, Australia and the US Air Force.
“The factory in Australia will be the first missile factory outside of Kongsberg, Norway, to manufacture both NSM and JSM, and it will be followed by a similar facility in the United States,” said Øyvind Kolset, executive vice president Missiles and Space for Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
“The three Kongsberg factories will support Europe, North America and the Indo-Pacific regions to meet the strong international demand for the NSM and JSM, both fifth-generation strike weapons.”
