Avalon 2025: Kongsberg confirms its first Australian missile factory
The NSM in flight. (Image: Kongsberg)
Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA) will set up its first factory producing Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) outside of Norway at Newcastle Airport, Australia.
The factory is expected to be open for business from 2027, making both NSM and Joint Strike Missiles (JSM) for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and for its international partners.
There have been plans to open a new missile factory in Australia since August 2024, but the Australian Ministry of Defence said the new announcement confirmed “the next step towards implementing the announcement of last August”.
The missiles and the money
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits
A Pentagon push to procure warships from Japanese and South Korean shipyards could reshape allied naval industrial strategy, but critics warn the approach risks hollowing out the domestic base Washington is seeking to restore.
-
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
-
Sealift shortfalls set to drive opportunities across NATO navies
A new Council on Geostrategy primer warns that NATO cannot defend its own supply lines. As the alliance faces a sealift and logistics escort deficit, a wave of unawarded procurement is beginning to take shape.
-
AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise
The AUKUS partnership is accelerating uncrewed undersea capability while its submarine arm inches forward, and Australia’s decision to settle for three in-service Virginia-class boats raises questions about industrial risk, dependency and whether Pillar II may deliver meaningful capability long before Pillar I can.