Australia to build GMLRS and forge M795s for ADF and export
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The government has announced more initiatives in the domestic manufacturing of missiles and munitions at scale.
FILE PHOTO: An American HIMARS in action.
One announcement was that Thales had been selected as the preferred tenderer to build a new domestic forging capability for 155mm M795 artillery ammunition.
M795 155mm artillery ammunition are used by Australia, the United States and other international partners for the M777A2 Light Towed Howitzer, a critical close-fires capability.
Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy said Defence would work with Thales as the preferred company to build, establish and commission the forge at the Commonwealth-owned Benalla Munitions Facility.
“This forge will produce 15,000 rounds each year by 2028, with capacity to produce up to 100,000 for global consumption,” Mr Conroy said.
“It will also be the first dedicated forge outside of the United States that will manufacture 155mm M795 artillery ammunition.”
Asked why NIOA, who already have a 155mm artillery-shell forge in Queensland did not win the contract, Mr Conroy said, “They produce rounds for Germany, which is great – but those rounds aren’t used in Australia on any of our platforms” – which is incorrect, according to the 5-year extension to supply 155mm ammo for the ADF’s M777A2 howitzers, which was announced in June last year.
The journalist who asked the question inferred that NIOA was snubbed because of its leanings towards the Liberal Party – which Mr Conroy denied, just before making the erroneous statement above.
In another boost to domestic manufacturing, the government also committed to an Australian facility to manufacture Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS), in partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia.
GMLRS is a long-range surface-to-surface precision strike capability that can be fired from High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers.
Mr Conroy said this new facility would enable Australia to produce viable volumes of GMLRS for global consumption.
“It will be capable of producing up to 4000 GMLRS each year from 2029.
“This represents more than a quarter of the current global production and more than 10 times the current ADF demand.”
Both projects are part of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise.
They also form part of the 2024 Australian GWEO Plan – the government’s blueprint to build Defence’s GWEO stocks, strengthen supply chains and support a domestic manufacturing capability.
Mr Conroy said that by producing GMLRS at scale and investing in the development of a capable and resilient Defence industrial base to forge 155mm M795 artillery projectiles, Australia could be more self-reliant and able to accelerate the delivery of capability to the ADF, as well as international partners.
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Sometimes I wonder who thinks up these EO related production stories.
Back in the 1970s some $50M was allocated to establish 155 mm ammo manufacture in Oz with forging at Maribyrnong or Bendigo and filling at St Marys; to provide a local ammunition manufacturing capability for then being introduce M198 artillery system. Modern EO types were envisages such as Base Burning Extended Range, Rocket Propelled and mine and carrier dispersal systems however they were all too expensive and a bunfight occurred in Army over whom should control the “funnies”; Artillery or Engineers. In fact, the EO price was so high (far more than the guns and arty systems that the Dod left the ammo costs off the submission for funds). To lessen the financial blow, the ADF decided to use 155mm M107 HE as the preferred ammo – a design introduced not long after WW1 and still currently in production somewhere and therefore relatively cheap. No additional operational capability was provided by this buy, it just gave the artillery a couple of bigger guns to play with to “keep their hand in.” The ADF amalgamated the two medium regiments (one regular, one reserve) to get the new toy. It appears that the $$$ were spent and equipment procured which disappeared into the maelstrom of Department of Defence Production accounting systems.
When the OPS oriented hierarchy in defence decided to sell off the nations weapons producing logistic systems to the highest bidder so there would be more money for “toys”, somebody remembered the 155mm production buy (a very senior and learned WO who had been on the system selection team – now unfortunately long deceased). In the confusion of the handover of assets to foreign nationals, all details of this were “unremembered” and therefore denied. Well had our bureaucrats studied their copies of “1984” and were thus able to once again show that those who controlled the present controlled the past, and those controlling the past controlled the future.
When the M198 was replaced by the M774 system, there were again rumblings about getting improved ammo and making it locally. As your article indicates, a QLD coy got an order but they now appear to have been given the flick for a French coy. Is this payback for the AUKUS fiasco? It is reported that the proposed production will be M795(mod U/K) at Benalla with a yearly production rate of 15000/year. (Will this be the complete assembly – igniter, propelling charge, projectile and fuze??? I very much doubt it).Now I have to ask, to what advantage to Oz or our ADF will this bring. One of the big problems with arty EO production in Oz has been determining usage rates, war reserves and battle use statistics. The last battle statistics considered were of WW2 Africa usage and these were promptly tossed. The Vietnam Battles of Long Tan and Coral statistics could have been useful but were not available in the 70s. Looking at how the Navy came up with logistic statistics was no help. What the Navy used was plucked out of Nelson’s bum ie they just took a Brit or US figure because that filled their ships up and they could always pick up some more on a jolly cruise to an allied port.
Now the M795 is only marginally improved to the M107 with a slightly longer range (nearly 4 km) and a little more HE. Considering the number of 155mm arty systems in service and the current Govt scheming to relegate the Army to the backwaters of forward defence planning, it would be cheaper for Oz just to buy what it needs from the upgraded US production lines and use the Benalla facility to make something more useful. BTW with respect to usage rates mentioned above, 155mm usage in the current war by Ukraine is about seven thousand rds/day. Say two years Oz production – so I don’t know why we bother. I won’t go into the planned GM production rates other than to say the numbers are a pipe dream. The recently announced decision by the government not to proceed with DoD’s satellite requirements should cause a rethink of our GM production capability.
As the DoD apparently supports the concept of complete military interchangeability with the USA and the government is happy with the loss of sovereignty brought about by the purchase of US systems, it would probably be an advantage to the Australian taxpayer if we just sub-contracted the whole of our Defence to the USA. We would probably get a more efficient, better equipped and cheaper system in the long run and the unwashed masses might feel more secure. And do not just pass off such an idea as pub-talk. The only way the ADF is going to get the workforce to run all its new toys is to reintroduce conscription and imagine the stink that will cause. Cheaper to subcontract out the whole ADF.
Wonderful news. Now how about manufacturing small arms ammunition primers and projectiles in Australia.