Australia Insourcing Flare and Chaff Production

RAAF C-130J-30, flares(click to view full) Australia’s Department of Defence has entered into a long-term agreement with Chemring Australia Pty Ltd to manufacture “pyrotechnics and air-expendable stores such as flares and chaff, deployed from military aircraft” at its facility in Lara, Victoria, Australia. The agreement is valued at A$160 million (currently about $105 million) over 10 years, and during that period Chemring will invest approximately A$ 18 million in its plant and equipment n Australia. In announcing the contract signing, Australia’s Greg Combet, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement Greg Combet and the DoD release maintained that this agreement will smooth prices, position Chemring Australia to sell these products to region, and “demonstrate the capacity to manufacture these items for the JSF project and… compete for work on the global fleet.”