Anduril Australia is preparing for a potential contract solicitation to establish a production facility for solid rocket motors, short for SRMs, as the Australian government builds the domestic capability to manufacture guided weapons and explosive ordnance, Breaking Defense reported.
Canberra recently released a request for information to identify industry players capable of producing SRM locally. This capability is essential to Australia’s GWEO Enterprise, a $14.1 billion 10-year strategy to accelerate the acquisition of weapons such as the Evolved SeaSparrow, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, and the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile and enable their domestic sustainment and maintenance.
Brielle Terry, vice president and general manager of rocket motor systems at Anduril Industries, has been in Australia for over a week to study the country’s military and procurement culture.
David Goodrich, CEO of Anduril Australia, told Breaking Defense that establishing the production facility will help address the local demand for SRMs and open opportunities to export the product to allied nations and strategic partners. According to the executives, the company owns technology that would enable scaling up production for the domestic or export markets when necessary, without facility expansion.
Developing a new solid rocket fuel supports Anduril’s manufacturing plant bid. Terry said the ALITEC fuel could expand the range of the GMLRS by more than 40 percent. The GMLRS was built by Lockheed Martin, which partnered with Thales Australia to explore the production of solid rocket motors for the Australian market.
Other companies interested in setting up an SRM production facility in the country include NIOA and Northrop Grumman.