John Fry: building Australia's first missile factory in the Hunter
Engineering in the Hunter with Mel SietsmaShow Notes
Australia is about to build guided missiles for the first time — and Kongsberg is doing it at Williamtown, in the Hunter. John Fry, Managing Director of Kongsberg Defence Australia, joins James MacDonald for the first episode of Engineering in the Hunter to explain what's being built, why a 210-year-old Norwegian company chose Newcastle over 40 other sites, and what it means for the region: roughly 100 factory jobs, a supply chain that reaches far wider, and a genuine pathway from the University of Newcastle and TAFE into work being done on a world stage. In this episode: What Kongsberg is building at Williamtown: the Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile — two 5th-generation cruise missiles — in the company's first missile factory outside Norway, ever. The $850m the Commonwealth committed in August 2024 to manufacture and maintain those missiles in Australia, and why sovereign weapons production suddenly mattered after COVID and Ukraine. Why the Hunter beat 40 other sites — proximity to Orchard Hills, a port and an airbase, livability, and a good university and TAFE next door. How you stand up a missile factory on the other side of the world through a pandemic — a P&L from day one, defence-security accreditation, and building a supply chain from scratch. What NSM and JSM actually do — a stealthy imaging-infrared seeker, deck- or truck-launched, and a missile small enough to fit inside an F-35's internal weapons bay. The jobs: not just engineers — planning, supply chain, quality, IT, security, technicians — "the whole gamut," about 100 at the factory, with ~85% of the build spend flowing to Hunter businesses. Growing local talent: a first Newcastle-uni intern converting to a grad role, sponsoring the university's rocketry team, and how TAFE fits as technician demand ramps. Partnerships as the way into the Hunter — HunterNet, Multiplex, and the Thales tie-up behind StrikeMaster. What's next: Army's Long Range Fires down-select, counter-UAS and air-and-missile defence.
John Fry is Managing Director of Kongsberg Defence Australia. A former Australian Army air-defence officer with a chemistry background and a Master of Science in Guided Weapon Systems, he spent nine years at Raytheon — where he was capture lead on the NASAMS program — before joining Kongsberg in 2019 as its inaugural general manager in Australia. Register your interest via the Kongsberg careers page (kongsberg.com). Chapters 0:00 "A company since 1814" — the cold open 1:00 Welcome to Engineering in the Hunter — and why Kongsberg 1:58 From Army air-defence officer to missile-maker 6:05 Kongsberg since 1814 7:11 Why Australia — the NASAMS win 8:47 Standing up in-country through COVID 10:55 Running a P&L from day one 12:25 What we're building: the NSM and JSM 15:31 The $850m sovereign-manufacturing commitment 18:20 The JSM — a strike missile that fits inside the F-35 20:20 Why the Hunter: 40 sites, Orchard Hills, Williamtown 23:23 The factory: Norway's blueprint, self-contained 26:38 The jobs — "the whole gamut," about 100 roles 28:31 Finding talent locally 30:05 Pathways: the Newcastle-uni intern and TAFE 32:15 Partnerships — HunterNet, Multiplex, StrikeMaster 35:24 What's next: Long Range Fires, counter-UAS 37:43 How to get in — Kongsberg careers and the grad program Engineering in the Hunter is hosted by Melinda Sietsma with NTP Talent founder James MacDonald. James hosts this episode. Learn more at ntptalent.com.au. Engineering in the Hunter is produced by Day One®, trusted partners in the technology space and the team that helped build Blackbird Ventures' Wild Hearts. Sister shows include First Cheque, Oversubscribed and In The Blink of AI. Episodes are cross-promoted across the network.
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