Australia invests in expanding 155mm munitions, aerial bomb capacity

PARIS — Australia is investing AU$220 million (U.S. $139 million) to boost munitions production at two factories in the country’s southeast, the government said in a statement Friday.

The investment will boost production capacity for 155mm artillery ammunition and 500-pound aerial bombs at Thales-managed factories in Mulwala, New South Wales, and Benalla, Victoria.

With the war in Ukraine putting renewed emphasis on conventional fires, including 155mm artillery, Australia’s Defense Strategic Review has recommended local manufacturing of weapons to ensure stocks are maintained. The U.S. and the EU have been racing to keep up with Ukraine’s demand for artillery rounds in the high-intensity conflict with Russia.

“Improving Australia’s ability to manufacture the munitions our defense force needs is not only critical to meeting the strategic challenges we face as a nation, it will also support local industry and well-paid, skilled local jobs,” Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said in the statement.

Infrastructure redevelopments at both sites will ensure they’re equipped to support future production demands, including for 155mm ammunition, with new explosive mixers at the Mulwala factory allowing for faster production of a broader range of advanced munitions, according to the government.

The investment will boost capacity to produce the BLU-111(AUS) aerial bomb, manufactured domestically by Thales Australia. Australia first deployed the 500-pound high-explosive warhead on the F-35A in a laser-guided bomb configuration in 2021, and the ordnance replaces the older-generation Mk82 500-pound iron bombs.

The ability to bring the BLU-111 into service as an Australia-manufactured munition is a “significant milestone,” Conroy said.

The government said the investment shows it delivering on the priorities of the strategic review, by establishing local manufacturing of guided weapons and explosive ordnance. The Australian Army operates the M777 155mm towed gun as its main artillery piece , and Conroy said the investment will accelerate domestic production of ordnance such as 155mm artillery ammunition.

France and Australia said in January they would jointly supply 155mm ammunition to Ukraine, with French contractor Nexter manufacturing the artillery shells and Australia providing the explosive.

“The Mulwala and Benalla munition factories underpin Australia’s ability to develop critical propellants, explosives and munitions for the Australian Defence Force,” Conroy said.

Investments in new preparation and mixing equipment will increase the size of rocket motors that can be manufactured at Mulwala by 500%, which in turn supports the production of advanced guided weapons and hypersonic weapons, Thales Australia said in a separate statement Friday. The company operates the government-owned sites at Benalla and Mulwala under contract, employing more than 650 staff there to manufacture munitions systems.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——澳大利亚政府周五在一份声明中表示，澳大利亚将投资 2.2 亿澳元（1.39 亿美元）以提高该国东南部两家工厂的军火产量。

这项投资将提升泰雷兹公司在新南威尔士州穆尔瓦拉和维多利亚州贝纳拉的工厂生产 155 毫米炮弹和 500 磅航空炸弹的能力。

随着乌克兰战争再次凸显常规火力的重要性，包括155毫米火炮，澳大利亚国防战略评估报告建议在当地生产武器以确保库存。在与俄罗斯的高强度冲突中，美国和欧盟一直在竞相满足乌克兰对炮弹的需求。

国防工业部长帕特·康罗伊在声明中表示：“提高澳大利亚制造国防部队所需弹药的能力，不仅对应对我们国家面临的战略挑战至关重要，而且还将支持当地产业和高薪、高技能的本地就业岗位。”

据政府称，这两个地点的基础设施重建将确保它们能够满足未来的生产需求，包括 155 毫米弹药，穆尔瓦拉工厂的新型爆炸物混合器将能够更快地生产更广泛的先进弹药。

这项投资将提升泰雷兹澳大利亚公司自主生产的BLU-111(AUS)航空炸弹的产能。澳大利亚于2021年首次在F-35A战斗机上部署了这种500磅高爆弹头，采用激光制导炸弹配置，该弹药将取代老一代的Mk82型500磅铁制炸弹。

康罗伊表示，能够将BLU-111作为澳大利亚制造的弹药投入使用是一个“重要的里程碑”。

政府表示，这项投资表明其正在落实战略评估的优先事项，即建立制导武器和爆炸性弹药的本地化生产。澳大利亚陆军以M777型155毫米牵引式火炮作为其主要火炮，康罗伊表示，这项投资将加速155毫米炮弹等弹药的国内生产。

法国和澳大利亚在1月份表示，他们将联合向乌克兰提供155毫米炮弹，其中法国承包商奈克斯特公司负责制造炮弹，澳大利亚公司负责提供炸药。

康罗伊说：“穆尔瓦拉和贝纳拉的弹药工厂支撑着澳大利亚为澳大利亚国防军开发关键推进剂、炸药和弹药的能力。”

泰雷兹澳大利亚公司周五在另一份声明中表示，对新型制备和混合设备的投资将使穆尔瓦拉工厂可生产的火箭发动机尺寸增加500%，从而支持先进制导武器和高超音速武器的生产。该公司根据合同运营位于贝纳拉和穆尔瓦拉的政府所有工厂，并在那里雇佣了650多名员工，负责制造弹药系统。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。