John Fry
Managing Director, Kongsberg Defence Australia
“If you'd told me five years ago we'd be building missiles in Australia, I probably wouldn't have believed you.” Hear the conversation
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Kongsberg Defence Australia
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Latest conversation · Engineering in the Hunter
John Fry: building Australia's first missile factory in the HunterAbout Kongsberg Defence Australia
Kongsberg Defence Australia, which trades as KONGSBERG Australia, is the Australian business of Norway's Kongsberg group. Established in 2010, it supplies and supports defence systems for Australia and New Zealand, including NASAMS air defence and the Penguin anti-ship missile, from sites in Canberra, Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney and Perth. Under a 2025 contract with the Commonwealth it is building the Kongsberg Missile Factory at Newcastle Airport to make the Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile, with manufacturing due to start in 2027.
- Sector
- Defence, aerospace and security technology
- Headquarters
- Kongsberg, Norway (parent); Canberra, Australia (local)
- Offices
- Canberra, Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney, Perth
- Markets
- Australia, New Zealand
Sources: kongsberg.com
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Hear from the team.
Milestones.
- Kongsberg Defence Australia establishedkongsberg.com
- Moved into temporary Newcastle office to scale up workforcekongsberg.com
- Signed contract to build Australia's first guided-missile factorydefence.gov.au
- Reached construction milestone on Newcastle missile factorykongsberg.com
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Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026
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