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Australian weapons and munitions prime NIOA and US aerospace and defence company General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems have signed an agreement to collaborate on the potential supply of 70mm rockets to equip the Australian Army’s new Apache helicopters.
The potential supply of these rockets to the ADF would build upon current ADF 70mm rocket supply arrangements through Foreign Military Sales.
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The multiple natures of Hydra-70 rockets are key munitions for the Australian Defence Force’s incoming AH-64E Apache helicopter fleet, delivered under Project LAND 4503, and as a kinetic effector in counter-UAS systems.
Subject to appropriate US government approvals, the companies intend to explore opportunities for Australian assembly of the rockets under a multi-year agreement, offering increased flexibility, shorter lead times, assured domestic supply, and overall lower life-cycle cost for these munitions.
“This agreement further extends the NIOA/GDOTS relationship and represents a key sovereign munitions production opportunity in support of the ADF and forward-deployed US troops,” according to Ben James, chief executive of NIOA Australia and New Zealand.
“The 2024 Defence Industrial Development Strategy emphasised the importance of international industrial partnerships to build the strategic weight Australia needs to shape the future and recent international events have further highlighted the critical nature of sovereign supply chains and manufacturing capacity.
“Manufacturing warheads and key munitions for Apache would represent a key step in realising that objective.”
In line with the Commonwealth’s Defence Industrial Development Strategy goals, NIOA and GDOTS will assess which components of the system could be cost-effectively manufactured in Australia, with a view to seeking the transfer of production to the Australian defence industrial base.
On the establishment of local assembly arrangements for Hydra-70 rockets, there is expected to be an increase in skilled jobs at the Australian government-owned, contractor-operated munitions facility at Benalla in regional Victoria, where NIOA operates ammunition and primary explosive manufacturing capabilities.
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