Thales Australia has officially launched Australian Munitions – a business dedicated to providing a wide range of munitions that deliver a battlefield advantage to Australia’s warfighters. This will enable better access to capabilities, increased flexibility, and greater cost-effectiveness in meeting the customer’s munitions requirements.
Australian Munitions is part of Thales’s global network of explosive ordnance expertise, which includes Thales Advanced Weapon Systems, Thales Missile Electronics, Junghans Microtec, TDA Armements and Forges de Zeebrugge (FZ).
It also comprises a team of renowned strategic partners: US-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Norway’s Nammo and Winchester Australia.
This team represents world-class organisations committed to delivering international quality locally, adding significant depth to Australia's domestic munitions production capacity. Australian Munitions brings a broad product portfolio encompassing the majority of the Australian Defence Force’s non-guided munitions product requirements from small, medium and large calibre ammunition through to bombs, demolition stores and pyrotechnics.
Bringing the best of global and local supply chains, Australian Munitions will lower the cost of Australia’s explosive ordnance capability, while continuing to deliver world-leading safety performance in Australia’s strategically critical ordnance sites.
Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said: “With this business we are building the future of explosive ordnance manufacturing in this country. As a team we are dedicated to ensuring the Australian Defence Force has the best munitions the world has to offer, especially when t comes to US and NATO interoperability.
“Our partners give us significant global reach when it comes to accessing the widest range of technologies, and the market scale to ensure value for money for taxpayers.
“Thales Australia has a long history of explosive ordnance expertise, and our knowledge of the complexities of operating the Benalla and Mulwala facilities is demonstrated by our strong safety record in these challenging environments – safety is central to everything we do, and we have an ongoing program of continuous improvement in this area.”
Australian Munitions will encompass the manufacturing sites at Benalla in Victoria and Mulwala in New South Wales, and will be headed by Thales Australia Armaments Vice President Kevin Wall. These sites can trace their heritage back over 120 years to the Colonial Ammunition Company, registered in Victoria in 1888, and represent the continuing evolution of Australia’s explosive ordnance development and manufacturing capabilities.
Australian Munitions website is HERE