The Australian Missile Corporation has welcomed today’s announcement by the Federal Government of four new Sovereign Industrial Capability Priorities to further strengthen the nation’s defence industry.

The 10 initial priorities announced by the Federal Government in 2018’s Defence Industrial Capability Plan have been bolstered by today’s announcement. The Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP, confirmed that the following four Priorities would be added:

• Robotics, Autonomous Systems, and Artificial Intelligence;
• Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs), Hypersonic weapons, and Integrated Air and Missile Defence Systems;
• Space; and
• Information Warfare and Cyber Capabilities.

The news comes as the AMC continues to grow, attracting more than 250 partners in its response to the Federal Government’s announcement of the establishment of a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise.

The AMC was founded by NIOA – the largest Australian-owned supplier of weapons and munitions to the ADF.

Robert Nioa, CEO of NIOA and the AMC, said the AMC network featured partners with capability depth across the areas announced today, in particular guided weapons.

“There is significant overlap of technology in these Priority areas,” Mr Nioa said.

“AMC’s collaborative partnership model and its Capability Intelligence is well positioned to enable this synergistic sharing.

“This is a welcome announcement from the Federal Government particularly in the area of guided weapons. NIOA and the AMC have been built as truly sovereign corporations that ensure control of key defence projects remains within this country.

“We are a capable country with excellent defence industry options and today’s announcement reinforces the Morrison Government’s commitment to our industry and to the importance of sovereignty in our defence projects.”

Mr Nioa said the overlap of technology in the new Priority areas included the fact that PGMs, Robotics, Autonomous systems and Hypersonic weapons were all forms of a robot that require advanced control systems, Robust Safety Critical software and advanced computing and electronics.

He added that some Space access systems and PGMs and all Hypersonic weapons require solid rocket motors while Artificial Intelligence could be applied across the likes of Information Warfare, Cyber and Swarming Unmanned Aircraft Systems and PGMs.

“The ability for rapid productionising and deploying technology is itself a Strategic Capability,” Mr Nioa said.

“AMC is well placed to focus on enabling infrastructure, systems and culture to ensure the nation can rapidly deploy our developed technology for economic and security advantage.”

NIOA was founded in regional Queensland in 1973 and is the largest Australian-owned weapons and munitions Prime Contractor. Committed to the development of Australian sovereign capability, NIOA is investing $130m in domestic munitions and explosives manufacturing over the next five years, including a $60m artillery shell forging plant in Maryborough Queensland with joint-venture partner Rheinmetall Waffe Munitions, an upgrade of the Commonwealth’s Government-owned Benalla munitions plant in Victoria and an $11m expansion of its Brisbane warehouse and distribution facility.