The Australian Missile Corporation (AMC) is an Australian armaments company specialising in guided and non-guided weapon systems, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Queensland-based defence prime contractor NIOA. It was contracted by the Australian Government as an enterprise partner to help enable the development of a domestic guided and non-guided weapons manufacturing capability. The company’s inaugural and current chief executive officer, Lee Goddard, is a retired Rear Admiral of the Royal Australian Navy.[2]
As part of a 2021 initiative,[3] headed by the Department of Defence, the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise ("GWEO") program is intended to facilitate a domestic missile manufacturing capability. It is also supported by Aurecon, as enterprise partner, and multinational arms companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as strategic partners.[4]
GWEO was established under the prime ministership of Scott Morrison, whose messaging throughout his career not irregularly touched on the importance of Australia's defence infrastructure and capabilities.[3] A RAND Corporation analysis from 2022 notes the creation of the GWEO was prefaced in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update.[5]
History
On 3 June 2021, Black Sky Aerospace and Quickstep are among the first companies to partner with the Australian Missile Corporation in their bid for the Australian Government's sovereign guided missiles project.[6]
On 22 August 2022, the AMC agreed to enter into a strategic partnership with American defence contractor Day & Zimmermann.[7]
On 23 August 2022, the AMC received the backings of MBDA, a European guided weapons joint venture of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.[8]
On 22 September 2022, the AMC formally accepted the contact to become an inaugural Enterprise Partner for the GWEO.[9]
See also
External links
References
- Our Leadership Australian Missile Corporation, retrieved 3 January 2023^
- Sovereign guided weapons an essential capability 30 May 2022, retrieved 3 January 2023^
- Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise www.defence.gov.au, retrieved 25 December 2022^
- Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to deliver GWEO www.australiandefence.com.au, 5 April 2022, retrieved 25 December 2022^
- Christopher A. Mouton, Carl Rhodes, Mark V. Arena, Paul Deluca, Andrew Dowse, John P. Godges, Adam R. Grissom, Caleb Lucas. Establishing a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise for Australia RAND Corp, 21 March 2022, retrieved 25 December 2022^
- NIOA partners with Quickstep, Black Sky for sovereign guided weapons push www.defenceconnect.com.au, 2 June 2021, retrieved 19 November 2021^
- Day & Zimmermann to partner with Australian Missile Corporation 22 August 2022, retrieved 3 January 2023^
- MBDA, Europe's foremost missile designer and developer, has joined the Australian Missile Corporation's consortium to develop Australia's sovereign guided munitions capabilities. www.defenceconnect.com.au, 23 August 2022, retrieved 26 December 2022^
- AMC locked in for GWEO enterprise 22 September 2022, retrieved 26 December 2022^