CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – South Korea and Australia are offering to relieve Washington’s strained defense supplier network, as U.S. defense planners grapple with bottlenecks in munitions production, Defense News reportedSunday.
One solution is for overseas-based arms manufacturers to set up shop in the United States—something Hanwha Aerospace from South Korea is proposing. Another is for American companies to build manufacturing facilities offshore, such as a new Lockheed Martin factory that opened in South Australia on Dec. 5.
Korean Expansion
Hanwha Aerospace plans to establish an automated plant in the United States for producing propellant, modular charge systems and base-bleed units for artillery systems. Base-bleed technology extends an artillery round’s range by reducing drag during flight.
“Our goal is to bring this vertically integrated, fully automated production capability to the United States,” Juliana Kim, project lead for Hanwha’s precision guided munition division, told journalists during a company-sponsored factory tour in South Korea last month.
Hanwha will announce a site for the company-owned propellant plant soon, with groundbreaking planned for the third quarter of 2026 and construction taking three years. The plant will manufacture nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, nitroguanidine and triple-base propellant, featuring a load-assemble-pack line for modular artillery charge systems.
Capable of producing approximately 1.5 million modules for 155mm artillery modular charge systems per year, Hanwha executives said they are ready to invest $1 billion in the facility. Once fully operational, the plant could generate $500 million in revenue annually. A base-bleed unit line would require additional investment of $240 million.
“By 2030, our goal is to produce fully U.S.-localized modular charges using U.S.-made raw materials from our plant,” Kim said. Future options include solid rocket motor production in the U.S.
Hanwha Aerospace produces more than 90% of South Korea’s warhead and propulsion systems. The company is building a factory for modular charges at its Boeun site in South Korea with annual capacity of about 250,000 complete modular charge systems. That facility will begin operations in early to mid-2027.
Australian Production
Under Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise, Lockheed Martin Australia opened a government-owned factory in Port Wakefield, around 60 miles from Adelaide, on Dec. 5. The facility will produce Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System rockets and launch pod containers—the first time GMLRS has been assembled outside the U.S.
“Starting missile production in Australia this year is a major step in building the industrial strength our nation needs,” Defence Minister Richard Marles said. “It’s about creating advanced manufacturing capability that will serve Australia for decades to come.”
Initially, the facility is assembling GMLRS kit components, with fuller production integrating selected domestic components to occur from 2029. A bilateral government agreement signed in March 2024 established a pathway for production of up to 4,000 GMLRS rockets annually—more than ten times what Australia needs.
“So we’re not just looking at Australian consumption; we’re looking at the global supply chain,” James Heading, director and general manager of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin Australia, said.
The company plans to produce additional longer-range weapons in Australia, including the GMLRS-ER and Precision Strike Missile, with hypersonic technology possible later. Heading said that within three to five years “we should be achieving price parity, if not better, in the Australian market” compared to U.S. production.
