Avalon 2025: Australia’s missile and ordnance plans excite companies
Lockheed Martin, Boeing and BAE Systems have been pushing their case forward for GWEO. (Image: BAE Systems)
Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) industrial plan is ambitious and promises big spending in an effort to create a local and sovereign capability. Companies at last week’s Australian International Airshow near Melbourne were making their pitches.
After decades of major orders and with ongoing procurements, the opportunities for Australian industry are substantially less than when aircraft orders and deliveries flowed while land and naval competitions were being signed.
The Royal Australian Air Force has received several types of aircraft in recent years and the Australian Army has billions-of-dollars of equipment entering service such as AS9 self-propelled howitzers, AS10 support vehicles for AS9, Abrams main battle tanks and Apache AH-64E attack helicopters.
Similarly, the Royal Australian Navy is awaiting its Hunter-class destroyers and while the AUKUS nuclear submarine requirement is potentially a long-term opportunity there is little
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