Thales confirmed that the recent agreement will form part of the company’s Strategic Domestic Munitions Manufacturing (SDMM) contract with the government, which is expected to last for a decade.

The pair have already undertaken work across a range of ordnances and munitions together, including the BLU-126, BLU-111 and 155mm M795 HE projectiles. The latter projectile was recently viewed by the US embassy during their February visit to Thales’ Mulwala and Benalla sites.

Thales Australia recently partnered with AlphaBeta Advisors to conduct an analysis on the defence market in Australia, and found that the industry employs thousands of workers throughout Australia – with Thales Australia specifically investing $522 million to 1,362 Australian companies in 2019 collaborative projects, 70 per cent of which were SMEs.

The agreement comes following the recent announcement by Lockheed Martin Australia and Thales Australia for the production of the Lockheed Martin Long Range Anti-Ship Missile - Surface Launch (LRASM SL) variant.

Regarding the agreement with Lockheed Martin, chief executive of Thales Australia Chris Jenkins outlined that it demonstrated the company's ongoing support for Australia's defence industry.

“High performance propellants and explosives for warheads, solid fuel rocket motor manufacturing and associated R&D and support services delivered by Thales Australia are essential to achieve sovereign guided weapons capability and we are looking forward to working with Lockheed Martin in support of the Australian Defence Force’s objectives,” Jenkins said.

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According to a statement, Thales Australia outlined that the recent commonwealth government policies to bolster Australia’s sovereign defence manufacturing capability will create a stronger defence and manufacturing sector in Australia.

[Related: Lockheed, Thales to jointly develop local guided missile capability]

Liam Garman

Editor – Defence and Security, Momentum Media

Liam began his career as a speech writer at New South Wales Parliament before working for world leading campaigns and research agencies in Sydney and Auckland. Throughout his career, Liam has managed and executed international media and communications campaigns spanning politics, business, industrial relations and infrastructure. He’s since shifted his attention to researching and writing extensively on geopolitics and defence. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Strategy and Security with Excellence from UNSW Canberra, with a thesis on post-truth, postmodernism and disinformation operations.

 

Reach out to Liam via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.