Page 40 - Australian Defence Magazine February 2022

40 GUIDED WEAPONS
FEBRUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE’S GUIDED WEAPONS ASPIRATIONS
Last March, the government announced the acceleration of a Sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise to initially enhance self-reliance and supply chain resilience, but with a future goal of developing a guided weapons manufacturing capability in Australia.
JULIAN KERR | SYDNEY
WITH two significant and very different proposals from indus- try now on the table regarding the Sovereign Guided Weap- ons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) enterprise, both con- sortiums are hoping for some official guidance early in the new year on the role that either may be called on to play as a strategic partner to Defence.
“It’s really a case of assembling the golf clubs, but until we know what course we’re playing on we won’t know which clubs to put in the bag, and I don’t think anyone is in a different position to that,” said Major General (Ret.) Gus McLachlan, a former head of Land Forces Command who is now mobilising the Australian Missile Corporation (AMC) on behalf of Queensland munitions company NIOA.
Established by NIOA in May 2021 as a wholly-owned subsidiary, the AMC was a direct response to the Common- wealth’s announcement two months earlier that it would invest $1 billion to create a sovereign enterprise partner- ship with domestic industry to support missile and guided weapons manufacturing for use across the ADF.
The subsequent announcement in August 2021 of the Sovereign Missile Alliance (SMA) 50:50 Joint Venture formed by EOS Defence Systems and Nova Systems has added to speculation on how Defence can best structure and implement the new enterprise given its importance, complexity and scope.
DEFENCE REQUIREMENTS
The ADF’s guided missile requirements are outlined in the 2020 Force Structure Plan and cover a range of guided and high-speed strike programs including hypersonic missiles, anti-ship systems, loitering munitions, and air defence - collectively worth about $30 billion.
Major General Andrew Bottrell, Head of CASG’s Land Systems Division, told the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC) in Adelaide in December that CASG was developing a schedule of engagement activities to offer industry the max- imum opportunity to become involved in the enterprise.
“In the short-term and into the medium-term I expect that our focus will be on expanding the skills and capa- bilities that we already possess, so doing more of what we already can do.
“And then mobilising the industrial base that will be needed for the longer terms, as well as accelerating the co- development of future weapons systems and components.
“In the longer term, out to the 20-year mark, it’s feasible that Australia will achieve sovereign design, development, manufacture, and support of selected weapons. Including integration with current and future platforms.
“There’s a huge amount to consider and plan for, al- though we do need to wait for government direction to be able to act accordingly,” he commented.
The scope of that government direction – and its timing