Australia forges ahead with 155mm ammo production

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Amid efforts to ramp up ammunition production in Australia, the government announced a A$72 million – around US$51 million – contract to set up an M795 155mm artillery projectile production line there.

The deal with Rheinmetall Nioa Munitions (RNM) was announced on June 8. It will see the joint venture forging 155mm shells for the Australian Army and others at its Maryborough facility in Queensland.

Notably, this is the first time M795 shells will be forged outside North America. The ammunition is in heavy demand, as Ukraine chews through 5,500-6,000 rounds every day.

The M795 rounds are fired by Australia’s M777A2 towed howitzers and the AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzer now entering service.

The U.S. military and other partner nations use the ammunition, too, so exports are part of the business equation.

This RNM deal reverses a 2024 move asking Thales Australia to establish a 155mm forging capability at a government-owned site at Benalla.

That decision was unusual because RNM’s Maryborough facility had already been forging 155mm shells since June 2022. Its DM-family casings are sold to Germany, where they are filled and fused for onward delivery to Ukraine.

Allocating the M795 contract to an existing facility rather than creating a parallel production line from scratch appears more sensible, analysts said. Canberra eventually recognized this, for in June 2025 it canceled the M795 award to Thales.

All is not lost for Thales Australia, though, as the government is investing A$9.2 million to modernize and refurbish an existing 5-inch naval projectile production line at Benalla, Australia.

The Maryborough factory will commence M795 production by late 2028 at a rate of 15,000 rounds annually. It will also have an annual surge production capacity of 100,000 rounds.

“Domestic forging ensures Australia has control of the supply chain and will always have access to forged projectiles, reducing lead times and better equipping the Australian Defence Force in times of conflict,” the Department of Defence said in a statement.

Australia also needs to close another sovereignty gap. It currently cannot load, assemble and pack explosives into 155mm projectiles, nor add fuses.

Nioa describes its munitions facility as “the most advanced of its kind” in the world.

“The RNM facility at Maryborough has successfully ramped up to three shifts per day, which is a significant milestone in production capacity expansion,” Mick Ahern, Nioa Australia & New Zealand’s General Manager for Weapons & Munitions, told Defense News. “This equates to a capacity of 3,500 projectile bodies per month.”

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——在澳大利亚努力提高弹药产量之际，政府宣布了一项价值 7200 万澳元（约合 5100 万美元）的合同，将在澳大利亚建立一条 M795 155 毫米炮弹生产线。

与莱茵金属尼奥军需品公司（RNM）的交易于6月8日宣布。根据该协议，合资企业将在其位于昆士兰州玛丽伯勒的工厂为澳大利亚陆军和其他军方锻造155毫米炮弹。

值得注意的是，这是M795炮弹首次在北美以外地区锻造。这种弹药需求量很大，因为乌克兰每天要消耗5500到6000发炮弹。

M795 炮弹由澳大利亚的 M777A2 牵引式榴弹炮和正在服役的 AS9 猎人自行榴弹炮发射。

美国军方和其他伙伴国家也使用这种弹药，因此出口是商业考量的一部分。

RNM 的这项协议推翻了 2024 年的一项举措，该举措要求泰雷兹澳大利亚公司在贝纳拉的一个政府所有的场地建立 155 毫米锻造能力。

这一决定不同寻常，因为RNM位于玛丽伯勒的工厂自2022年6月以来一直在锻造155毫米炮弹。其DM系列炮弹壳销往德国，在那里进行填充和熔接，然后运往乌克兰。

分析人士表示，将M795合同分配给现有工厂，而不是从零开始建立一条平行生产线，似乎更为明智。堪培拉最终也意识到了这一点，于2025年6月取消了授予泰雷兹公司的M795合同。

不过，泰雷兹澳大利亚公司也并非完全没有希望，因为政府正在投资 920 万澳元，对位于澳大利亚贝纳拉的一条现有的 5 英寸海军炮弹生产线进行现代化改造和翻新。

位于玛丽伯勒的工厂将于2028年底开始生产M795弹药，年产量为15000发。该工厂还将具备每年100000发的应急产能。

国防部在一份声明中表示：“国内锻造确保澳大利亚能够控制供应链，并始终获得锻造炮弹，从而缩短交货时间，并在冲突时期更好地装备澳大利亚国防军。”

澳大利亚还需要弥补另一个主权缺口。目前，它既不能自行装填、组装和包装155毫米炮弹中的炸药，也不能自行安装引信。

Nioa公司称其弹药设施是世界上“同类设施中最先进的”。

“位于玛丽伯勒的RNM工厂已成功将生产能力提升至每天三班，这是产能扩张的一个重要里程碑，”NIOA澳大利亚和新西兰武器弹药总经理米克·阿赫恩告诉《防务新闻》。“这相当于每月可生产3500枚弹体。”

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。