CANBERRA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia will begin producing long-range missiles from 2027 under a partnership with Norwegian defense company Kongsberg.
Pat Conroy, minister for defense industry and capability delivery, on Thursday announced the government will contribute up to 850 million Australian dollars (572.2 million U.S. dollars) in partnership with Kongsberg Defense Australia to manufacture and service missiles locally.
Under the partnership, a missile factory at the airport precinct in the city of Newcastle -- over 100 km north of Sydney -- will open in 2026 and in 2027 begin manufacturing and servicing Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) and Joint Strike Missiles to be used by the Australian Defense Force (ADF).
The NSM will replace the Harpoon anti-ship missiles on the ADF's Hobart class destroyers and Anzac class frigates. ■
