On Monday, April 13, 2026, Australia’s Department of Defence announced the first live firing of 227 mm GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) family guided rocket ammunition for M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) multiple launch rocket systems, produced domestically under license from Lockheed Martin.
Photos: Australian Army
The firing was carried out at the RAAF Woomera prohibited area in South Australia, also known as the Woomera Test Range (WTR), which belongs to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Covering more than 122,000 square kilometers, the range is the largest facility of its kind in the Western world – only slightly smaller than England.
The GMLRS ammunition tested came from the new production facility in Port Wakefield, South Australia, which was opened in December and delivered its first batch in the middle of last month. This follows an 37.4 million AUD agreement between Lockheed Martin Australia and the Australian government on January 16, 2024, to establish the production line, itself stemming from an agreement with the U.S. government dated July 29, 2023.
Although the ammunition components initially come from the United States, there are plans to launch local production in order to achieve full domestic capability. Australian suppliers will gradually be integrated into the GMLRS supply chain thanks to an 320 million AUD investment to support local companies in manufacturing GMLRS components.
Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy said:
“Making missiles in Australia is central to Australia’s national defence resilience. Australia is now the only country outside the United States to make the GMLRS missile, providing opportunities for Australian industry to enter into global supply chains. This successful test-firing is a major milestone for Australia’s sovereign guided weapons capability, demonstrating concrete progress in strengthening our national self‑reliance and delivering a defence future made in Australia.”
As noted, until now the only production line had been located at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Camden, Arkansas, while the U.S. Army is surveying the market to identify opportunities to increase GMLRS ammunition production to 19,000 rounds in 2028. Meanwhile, the Australian government plans to establish a separate high-throughput facility in order to reach its long-term goal of producing 4,000 missiles annually by 2029 (USA: Over USD 4 Billion for GMLRS Ammunition Production).
Australia has requested a total of 90 M142 HIMARS launchers in three batches, and the first deliveries to the newly established 10th Fires Brigade in Adelaide began on March 24, 2025. Together with the launchers, initial ammunition packages were also ordered, including a total of 150 six-pack launch pod containers with M30A2 GMLRS Alternative Warhead (AW) rockets and 60 containers with M30A1 GMLRS-AW, 70 containers with M31 Unitary GMLRS and 24 containers with M31A2 ER-GMLRS-U, 30 containers with XM403 Extended Range (ER)-GMLRS AW rockets, 30 containers with EM404 ER-GMLRS rockets, and 10 MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles. Excluding the latter, Australia requested the purchase of a total of 2,184 rockets from the GMLRS family.
The standard GMLRS ammunition family includes the M31 GMLRS-U and the M30A2 GMLRS AW, with a range of 15–84 km.
The M31 Unitary entered service in 2005. It is equipped with an 89 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead produced by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems. The rocket is guided by an inertial navigation system (INS) corrected by GPS and fitted with a fuze offering two operating modes: impact and delay. The newer M31A1 also includes a proximity mode.
The M30A2 AW entered service in 2019, following production of the earlier M30A1 between 2015 and 2019, and is fitted with an 89 kg warhead produced by ATK using insensitive high explosive and containing 160,000 preformed fragments. The M30A2 AW is intended for area effects in counter-battery fire, the engagement of air defense systems, command posts, and other high-value targets. Compared with the M30A1 AW, it differs in the use of the safer-to-store IMPS (Insensitive Munition Propulsion System) rocket motor.
There are also plans to launch licensed production of the latest PrSM (Precision Strike Missile) ballistic missiles, with an intended range of up to 1,000 km. Australia joined the U.S. program on August 12, 2021, and carried out its first domestic firing on July 25, 2025. An earlier GMLRS firing using a batch produced in the United States took place on July 14.
The first Australian made Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles have been successfully test-fired at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia.
The successful firing expands the long-range strike capability of the @AustralianArmy, with the surface-to-surface… pic.twitter.com/BFT4l6fp8u
— Defence Australia (@DefenceAust) April 13, 2026
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