Spotlight on Chemring Australia

The state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Lara, Victoria, is home to Chemring Australia. The 60-hectare (148 acres) site is recognised as the world's most advanced countermeasures manufacturing facility. The team is involved in the development, production, and testing of countermeasure flares. 
A significant $18 million investment to upgrade production at Lara was funded by Chemring, with support from the Victorian Government's Local Industry Fund for Transition (LIFT). Support was also granted by the US DoD's Cornerstone Other Transaction Agreement (OTA). 

In early 2020, Chemring Australia secured a US$107.5 million production contract to supply countermeasure flares for Australian, US, and international F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter operators. The significant contract award confirms Chemring's position as the designated sole source for operational countermeasures, specifically designed to protect the F-35 from incoming missile threats. 

The Lara team has now grown to 100 people working 24-hours a day, five days a week. Kirk Berenger, Operations Director, explains the importance of their work, "We are now a key supplier to the F-35 programme and the only facility able to build the MJU-68/B in the manner we do. The investment and support from the US DoD, local government, and Chemring Group have taken us from a local supplier to a global exporter."


Listen to Joe Farrah, Chemring Australia's Managing Director below: