Australian Sovereign Small Arms Capability

Thales Australia welcomes Minister for Defence Industry to open new advanced manufacturing facility in Lithgow

01 Sep 2023

Thales Australia has welcomed The Hon. Pat Conroy MP Minister for Defence Industry today to officially open the company’s new advanced manufacturing facility at Lithgow in regional New South Wales.

Lithgow Arms to Manufacture Australian-designed and Developed AR

15 Dec 2022

THE REGIONAL NEW South Wales town of Lithgow will be the location for manufacture of Australia’s first locally designed and developed AR weapon following the signing of an agreement between Thales Australia and Melbourne’s Wedgetail Industries this month.

Supporting the Future Soldier: Sovereign small arms manufacturing, with Matthew Duquemin from Thales and Alexander Knott from Wedgetail Industries

27 Nov 2022

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Matthew Duquemin, director, integrated weapons and sensors at Thales, and Alexander Knott, director of Wedgetail Industries, discuss the development of Australia’s sovereign small arms design and manufacturing capability.

Thales Australia's Latia Hardie paving the way for the next gen of female tradies

12 Sep 2022

Thales Australia's Latia Hardie is a Manufacturing Technician - Machine Setter at the Lithgow Arms site and is the face of a TAFE NSW campaign to promote the career prospects available to women in the engineering trades and manufacturing industry.

Skin in the game - how two Lithgow apprentices put themselves in the customer's shoes

12 Sep 2022

Thales Australia employees Josh Winter and Angus Carrigan both began their apprenticeships at our Lithgow site in January 2019 and have fully immersed themselves in the business - even completing a five-week basic Army Reserve training at Kapooka to gain a true appreciation of the rifle used by our customer!

NSW Government Grant to drive jobs growth at Lithgow Arms

14 Jul 2022

Thales Australia’s Lithgow Arms business welcomes the announcement by the NSW Government of a $1.12 million grant from the NSW Regional Job Creation Fund Round 2 to help grow its advanced manufacturing capability in regional New South Wales.

Lithgow Arms celebrates 110 years!

13 Jun 2022

On Wednesday 8 June, 2022, our Lithgow Arms site celebrated its 110-year anniversary. We look back on the story of Lithgow Arms, delight in some little-known facts and chat to General Manager Bruce Hutton and Business Improvement Manager David Forbes about their favourite memories over the decades and what makes Lithgow Arms such a special workplace.

Lithgow Arms launches Defence Industry Collaboration and Cooperation Centre in regional NSW

08 Jun 2022

Wednesday, 8 June, Lithgow, NSW - Thales Australia’s Lithgow Arms business in regional New South Wales has thrown open its doors - establishing a Small Arms Collaboration and Cooperation Centre (C3) to support and help grow the capabilities of its Australian SME and industrial partners.

Lithgow Arms and Outdoor Sporting Agencies to boost sporting rifle export markets

02 Feb 2022

Lithgow NSW, 31 Jan 2022 – Australia’s preeminent sporting rifle manufacturer, Lithgow Arms, has partnered with Fuller ��Ƶ and Outdoor Sporting Agencies (OSA) to grow Lithgow Arms’ export markets, and strengthen Australia’s commercial firearms manufacturing capability.

Thales moving quickly on Boxer CRV cannon manufacture

05 Nov 2021

Rapid progress is being made by Thales Australia in the local manufacture of key components for the Rheinmetall MK 30-2/ABM 30mm cannon. Following on from the announcement of a contract with Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) on 28 September, the company’s Lithgow Arms facility and select Australian suppliers have successfully manufactured components for the MK 30-2/ABM weapon system as required to meet initial Rheinmetall manufacturing, first article inspection (FAI) and certification standards.