In the first of our Avalon 2025 episodes, Grant McHerron talks initially with Oyvind Kolset, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace’s Executive Vice President of their Missiles division, after which he also catches up once again with John Fry, Managing Director of Kongsberg Defence Australia.

Oyvind discusses the state of their operation in the United States and gives his views on the changes that are occurring in Europe. Moving to missiles, he talks about sales of the Naval Strike Missile, resilience in their supply chain thanks to having three factories in different countries, and the level of sovereignty that will be possible for Kongsberg missiles built here in Australia. He then covers the Joint Strike Missile and also tells us about their new Supersonic Strike Missile in development with Germany that will be called the 3SM and is to be available in the mid 2030s. Oyvind closes out by discussing developments with their Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), their remote weapon stations, and how their space business is developing.

John Fry and Grant discuss developments in Australia since they last caught up at Land Forces 2025. John talks about integrating the NSM into the Royal Australian Navy's platforms, building the NSM launchers in Australia with 100% Australian components, and construction commencing on their new Newcastle factory. We then discuss KDA's involvement with the ADF's Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEO) and the potential for building the 3SM in Australia. John also talks about NASAMS passing Initial Operating Capability (IOC) and integrating the AIM-9X into Army's installation. We wrap by discussing the potential for the ADF to purchase Strikemaster for their second long range fires regiment, the importance of IAMD to Australia, and KDA's factories building products for export to other countries.

Links:

Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace

www.kongsberg.com/kda

Kongsberg Defence Australia

www.kongsberg.com/kda/Who-we-are/australia

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