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Avalon 2025: Kongsberg confirms its first Australian missile factory

31st March 2025 - 10:07 GMT | by Damian Kemp, Tony Fyler in Melbourne, Australia and London

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The NSM in flight. (Image: Kongsberg)

The deal, which has been planned since August 2024, is part of an ongoing attempt to bolster Australia’s defences against the potential of Chinese aggression.

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”.