Investing to Accelerate Australia’s GWEO Capabilities
Thales Australia has a long and proud history of working with and investing in Australian suppliers to further develop advanced in-country capability. For more than 25 years we have supported the Australian Defence Force (ADF) through the local manufacture and supply of critical explosive ordnance, in peace-time and during conflict, assuring Australia’s supply of strategic munitions, while delivering a potent capability advantage to our soldiers on operation when they need it the most.
Our longstanding history delivering sovereign munitions capability to the ADF has allowed us to accelerate the development of a sovereign Guided Weapon and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise.
As a local company with global reach, Thales brings to this challenge deep in-country capabilities in guided and non-guided munitions manufacturing, R&D, sustainment, training, storage and transport, along with significant scale and technical leadership.
Thales Australia employs a skilled workforce of nearly 4,000 staff locally and over 1,000 of these employees are already supporting GWEO programs in Australia. Thales operates at all the Commonwealth GWEO Manufacturing, Storage, Distribution and Maintenance facilities.
Thales is also engaging with over 800 local suppliers to find Australian solutions to key chemicals, components and materials (read more about Thales Australia Value and Impact of Supply Chain).
Sovereign Guided Weapons Heritage
Thales – An Australian Success Story
Australia's largest manufacturer of Explosive Ordnance for the ADF
Supporting BAE's Nulka Active Missile decoy - one of Australia's most successful defence exports
Manufactured the first insensitive munitions warhead for the Kongsberg Penguin Anti-ship missiles, exported to 6 countries
Warheads for RAAF Guided bomb units
Propellants for NASA rocket stage separation units
$1.6b in exports over 10 years
IP/TD transfer to and from the USA to support GWEO supply and sustainment
Propellant for High performance sniper ammunition for the U.S. Military
Longstanding Trusted Partnerships
Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Manufacturing Capability
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Long-term investment in Australian Research and Development
Thales has demonstrated world class collaborative work by scientists, academia, defence primes and Australian SMEs in developing and manufacturing a tried and tested guided weapons capability.
With a team of more than 15 R&D engineers, chemists and scientists, Thales staff have developed a reputation for delivering some of the world’s best energetics, with a particular expertise in propellant production, one of the core capabilities underpinning all sovereign munitions manufacture.
The 25 year long Strategic Alliance with Defence Science and Technology Group has translated laboratory success into industrialised and deployable systems including Submarine Launched Flares (SLF), exported to more than 5 navies, and Australian qualified and certified Insensitive Munitions explosives for advanced aircraft bombs for Super Hornet and JSF.
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Defence in Australia
- Defence in Australia
- Air
- Air Traffic Management
- Aviation Training and Simulation
- Avionics Maintenance and Repair
- Drones and Urban Air Mobility
- Advanced air defence
- Land
- Protected Mobility Vehicles
- Australian Sovereign Small Arms Capability
- Explosive Ordnance Services
- Land Training and Simulation
- Connected Digital Battlespace
- Sea
- Above Water Systems
- Maritime Sustainment and Support
- Underwater Systems
- Mine Warfare
- Thales Acoustics Centre of Excellence
- Sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise
- Smart Sustainment Services