The U.S., Australia and Singapore launch High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia, July 14, 2025. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
Australia, the United States and defense contractor Lockheed Martin have advanced a plan to build guided missiles in Australia as the allies work to expand their weapons stockpiles and deter China’s rapidly growing military.
The plan was outlined Monday in a joint statement and in a news release from Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy. It includes establishing a bilateral office in Huntsville, Ala., to help produce Precision Strike Missiles.
“There’s a global backlog of production of missiles as people ramp up production in response to the strategic circumstances,” Conroy told a Sky News reporter Monday in Washington, according to a transcript provided by his office. “So, this is about making Australia safer by equipping the Australian Army with long-range strike, but also contributing to allies and partners around the world.”
New missiles will allow the Australian army to strike targets more than 600 miles away, Conroy said in his release. The goal is to build a factory capable of producing up to 4,000 missiles annually to support the U.S. and other partners.
The announcement comes just days before the expected first face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Washington, D.C.
It also comes at a key moment for the AUKUS security partnership, as the Pentagon reviews plans to sell Australia nuclear-powered submarines. Infrastructure work began last month at HMAS Striling, an Australian navy base near Perth, to support rotations of U.S. and British nuclear-powered submarines as early as 2027.
The missile initiative involves a $13.6 billion Australian investment in a guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise that will employ thousands of workers, Conroy said in his news release. The site will build Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, munitions and precision strike missiles.
“Australia is on track for the production of GMLRS munitions before the end of 2025, with a view to manufacturing more advanced weapons in the future,” he said.
Guided missiles featured prominently at Talisman Sabre, a three-week, biennial military exercise held in July and August. More than 40,000 troops from the U.S., Australia and 17 other nations trained across Australia and Papua New Guinea.
The training included the first live fire in Australia of the U.S. Army’s Typhon mid-range missile system and the debut of Australia’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which fired a Precision Strike Missile with a range of more than 310 miles.
“Prior to the introduction of HIMARS and GMLRS and PrSM, the longest-range strike weapon of the Australian Army was [25 miles],” Conroy told reporters Monday in Washington, according to another transcript provided by his office.
Naval officers from the U.S., Australia and Japan also signed a logistics agreement aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America during a July 11 port call in Brisbane. The pact allows for faster missile reloads and more flexible refueling, according to a U.S. Navy news release.
