As US ramps up munitions production, South Korea and Australia want in

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — South Korea and Australia are offering to relieve Washington’s strained defense supplier network, as U.S. defense planners grapple with bottlenecks in munitions production.

One partial solution is for overseas-based arms manufacturers to set up shop in the United States – something that Hanwha Aerospace from South Korea is proposing – and another is for American companies to build manufacturing facilities offshore.

An example of the latter tactic is a new Lockheed Martin factory that recently opened in South Australia.

Hanwha Aerospace plans to establish an automated plant in the United States for producing propellant, modular charge systems and so-called base-bleed units for artillery systems.

The addition of base-bleed technology extends an artillery round’s range by reducing the drag of the projectile’s base during flight.

“Our goal is to bring this vertically integrated, fully automated production capability to the United States,” Juliana Kim, project lead for Hanwha’s precision guided munition division, told a group of journalists during a company-sponsored factory tour in South Korea last month.

Hanwha is set to announce a site for the company-owned, company-operated propellant plant soon. Ground-breaking should occur in Q3 of 2026, with construction set to take three years.

The plant will manufacture nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, nitroguanidine, triple-base propellant, and feature a load-assemble-pack line for modular artillery charge systems.

Capable of producing approximately 1.5 million modules for 155mm artillery modular charge systems per year, Hanwha executives said they are ready to invest $1 billion in the facility. Once fully operational, the plant could generate $500 million in revenue annually, according to the company.

A base-bleed unit line would require additional investment of $240 million, according to Hanwha calculations.

“By 2030, our goal is to produce fully U.S.-localized modular charges using U.S.-made raw materials from our plant,” Kim explained. Future options include solid rocket motor production in the U.S. too.

Hanwha Aerospace produces more than 90% of South Korea’s warhead and propulsion systems. The company is in the process of building a factory for modular charges at its Boeun site in South Korea.

That factory is slated to take just two years to construct.

Lee Woo Jin, head of the company’s Yeosu Plant, explained this factory will have an annual capacity of about 250,000 complete modular charge systems.

“This new facility will begin operations in early to mid-2027, effectively doubling Hanwha’s export-ready modular charge system capacity,” he said.

Australian alternate

The U.S. can also assure production resilience by setting up facilities overseas. This is what Lockheed Martin has done, as it leverages the Australian government’s desire for greater self-sufficiency.

Under Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, Lockheed Martin Australia opened a new government-owned factory in Port Wakefield, around 60 miles from Adelaide, on Dec. 5.

The first product to emerge from the facility is Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets and launch pod containers. In fact, this is the first time GMLRS has been assembled outside the U.S.

“Starting missile production in Australia this year is a major step in building the industrial strength our nation needs,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said. “It’s about creating advanced manufacturing capability that will serve Australia for decades to come.”

Initially, the facility is only assembling GMLRS kit components, with fuller production integrating selected domestic components to occur from 2029.

A bilateral government agreement inked in March 2024 forged a pathway for production of up to 4,000 GMLRS rockets annually.

This is more than ten times what Australia needs for itself, so exports have always been part of Lockheed Martin’s thinking.

“So we’re not just looking at Australian consumption; we’re looking at the global supply chain,” James Heading, director and general manager of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin Australia, said.

The company already has eyes on producing additional, longer-range weapons in Australia, including the GMLRS-ER and the Precision Strike Missile and perhaps hypersonic technology later on, Heading said.

As for pricing, the executive said that within three to five years “we should be achieving price parity, if not better, in the Australian market,” compared to U.S. production.

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——由于美国国防规划人员正努力解决弹药生产瓶颈问题，韩国和澳大利亚主动提出帮助缓解华盛顿紧张的国防供应商网络。

一个部分解决方案是让海外武器制造商在美国设立工厂——韩国韩华航空航天公司就提出了这个方案——另一个方案是美国公司在海外建立制造工厂。

后一种策略的一个例子是最近在南澳大利亚开设的洛克希德·马丁新工厂。

韩华航空航天公司计划在美国建立一座自动化工厂，生产火炮系统的推进剂、模块化装药系统和所谓的底部泄放装置。

底部泄压技术的加入，通过减少炮弹飞行过程中底部的阻力，延长了炮弹的射程。

“我们的目标是将这种垂直整合、全自动化的生产能力引入美国，”韩华精确制导武器部门的项目负责人朱莉安娜·金上个月在韩国公司赞助的一次工厂参观活动中告诉一群记者。

韩华即将宣布其公司自有自营推进剂工厂的选址。预计将于2026年第三季度破土动工，建设工期三年。

该工厂将生产硝化纤维素、硝化甘油、硝化胍、三基推进剂，并配备模块化火炮装药系统的装填-组装-包装生产线。

韩华集团高管表示，该工厂每年可生产约150万个155毫米火炮模块化装药系统模块，公司已准备向该工厂投资10亿美元。据该公司称，工厂全面投产后，每年可创造5亿美元的收入。

根据韩华的计算，一条基础输液装置生产线需要额外投资 2.4 亿美元。

金解释说：“到2030年，我们的目标是利用我们工厂生产的美国本土原材料，完全在美国本土生产模块化装药。”未来的发展方向还包括在美国生产固体火箭发动机。

韩华航空航天公司生产韩国90%以上的弹头和推进系统。该公司正在韩国保恩工厂建设一座模块化装药工厂。

该工厂预计仅需两年时间即可建成。

该公司丽水工厂负责人李宇镇解释说，该工厂的年产能约为 25 万套完整的模块化充电系统。

“这座新工厂将于 2027 年初至年中投入运营，届时韩华的出口型模块化充电系统产能将有效翻一番，”他说道。

澳大利亚备选方案

美国还可以通过在海外设立工厂来确保生产的韧性。洛克希德·马丁公司正是这样做的，因为它利用了澳大利亚政府提高自给自足能力的愿望。

在澳大利亚制导武器和爆炸物（GWEO）企业的支持下，洛克希德·马丁澳大利亚公司于 12 月 5 日在距离阿德莱德约 60 英里的韦克菲尔德港开设了一家新的政府所有工厂。

该工厂生产的首批产品是制导多管火箭系统（GMLRS）火箭及其发射舱容器。事实上，这是GMLRS首次在美国境外组装。

“今年在澳大利亚启动导弹生产，是提升我国所需工业实力的重要一步，”国防部长理查德·马尔斯表示。“这关乎打造先进的制造能力，这将为澳大利亚未来几十年服务。”

该工厂最初只负责组装 GMLRS 套件组件，从 2029 年开始全面生产，并整合部分国产组件。

2024 年 3 月签署的双边政府协议为每年生产多达 4,000 枚 GMLRS 火箭铺平了道路。

这相当于澳大利亚自身需求的十倍多，因此出口一直是洛克希德·马丁公司考虑的一部分。

“所以我们不仅关注澳大利亚的消费，还关注全球供应链，”洛克希德·马丁澳大利亚公司导弹与火控部门总监兼总经理詹姆斯·海丁表示。

海丁表示，该公司已经着眼于在澳大利亚生产更多远程武器，包括GMLRS-ER和精确打击导弹，或许以后还会生产高超音速武器。

至于定价方面，这位高管表示，在三到五年内，“我们应该能够在澳大利亚市场实现与美国产品持平的价格，甚至更高”。

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。