Australian-made explosives supply Israel and the US war machine
Between November 2023 and October 2025 Thales Australia in Mulwala NSW exported at least 191.5 tons of nitrocellulose propellant in 15 separate shipments to St Marks Powder in Florida, one of the world’s largest producers of the military-grade propellant that fires all sizes of munitions.1
St Marks Powder are a subsidiary of General Dynamics Ordinance and Tactical Systems (GD OTS), both based in Florida.2 They provide nearly 100% of the US military supply for munitions up to 20mm, and are also a leading supplier of propellant for 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortar ammunition and 155mm artillery shells.3
US government documents show that the US has recently supplied Israel with 155mm artillery shells and 120mm mortars, of specific models which reply on propellant made by St Marks Powder. This includes:
- In August 2024 Congress was notified that the US would supply Israel with 50,400 General Dynamics OTS 120mm High Explosive Mortars.4 The M933A1 shells listed use the St Marks M47 propellant/WC 863 ball powder in their M234 Propelling Charge, and St Marks M48/WC816 propellant in the M1020 ignition cartridge.5
- The US has also made large shipments of M107 and M795 155mm artillery shells to Israel, both manufactured by General Dynamics OTS.6 The M795 shell uses TNT from Poland, India and potentially Thales Australia,7 and a Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) propelling charges M231 and M232 which uses WC864 ball powder made by St. Marks Powder.8 St Marks have a direct indefinite-delivery contract to supply the WC864 ball powder to the US military.9
- US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment Steven Morani also told a US House of Representatives subcommittee in June 2025 that “An additional $783 million in Israel supplemental funding is being invested to replenish 155mm Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS) stocks used in support of propellant acceleration.”10
The integration of Thales Australia into the US production of M795 artillery shells and propellant makes sense as Thales Australia is also developing the capability to make M795 shells in Australia to supply both the ADF and the US military.11
A retired officer from an Australian artillery regiment has estimated that the total volume shipped from Australia to the US could supply well over 20,000 155mm shells12 – and many more of the smaller 120mm mortars that are less than 1/3 of the weight.
The Mulwala NSW factory which made the nitrocellulose is owned by the Australian government, who have paid for multiple advanced upgrades to its capacity and heavily subsidise its operation.13 It has multiple points of cooperation and supply with the US military and companies, including an agreement to participate in the General Dynamics OTS supply chain,14 and becoming licenced by the US military to produce military grade TNT for them.15 This cooperation has been the subject of high-level announcements by Australian Ministers and American Secretaries, and other government officials.16 With each announcement, Thales Australia executives have said that they hoped to secure even more sales to General Dynamics, American Ordnance, and the US Military.
The Australian government is actively facilitating and promoting the use of Australian munitions facilities to arm the US war machine and Israel.
The tempo of shipments from Thales Australia to St Marks increased at the end of 2024, with 5 shipments in Oct-Dec 2024. These public records show the shipments then continued monthly until October 2025. Each shipment was a single container of approximately 11,000kg of nitrocellulose.
This evidence further confirms reports from workers at the Thales Mulwala facility. In June 2026 they told independent news site The Shot they were concerned that they were manufacturing and exporting explosives (nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and RDX) that ended up in Israel’s arsenal via the U.S. and intermediaries in Singapore. Mulwala workers report more workers hired, 24-hour a day rosters, and a significant increase in production output since Israel began the Gaza genocide in 2023.17 It is also very likely that St Marks propellant would have been used in the US attacks on Iran.
Research Note: Stop the War on Palestine – Sydney
The data is from Importinfo.com who say “data currently on our website is obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection through public information requests,” and Import Genius a subscription company whose records “come from government public records, customs agencies, trade databases, and proprietary sources”. A summary of the shipments is here. Unlike in Australia, detailed import/export information can be accessed in the U.S. A sample Bill of Lading for a 2025 shipment has been published in David Milner, Penny! Are 191.5 tons of nitrocellulose we sent to Israel “nonlethal in nature”?, The Shot, 17 September, 2026. ↩︎
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Expands Ball Powder Propellant Production Capacity by 20%, January 15, 2026. ↩︎
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems – St Marks Powder, BALL POWDER Propellants: Innovative Technology for the 21st Century Military, accessed August 2026. Dave Emary, Ball Powder Propellant: You Are Probably Shooting St. Marks Powder, Guns and Ammo, July 2022.**** ‘St. Marks Powder supplies nearly 100 percent of the propellant used in U.S. military small arms up to 20mm, including 9mm, 5.56 NATO, 7.62 NATO, .50 BMG and 20mm loadings. St. Marks Powder even supplies the propellant for 60mm, 81mm and 120mm mortar ammunition, as well as powder for some large-caliber ignition propellants.’ ↩︎
Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Israel – M933A1 120mm High Explosive Mortar Charges, News Release, August 13 2024. Deliveries were expected to begin in 2026. ↩︎
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, 120mm M933A1 HE High Explosive Cartridge, Accessed August 2026. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems – St Marks Powder, 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm Mortar Increments, Accessed August 2026. Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics, 2026 Product Portfolio Book, Mortar Ammunition: 120mm, p. 102. ↩︎
Defense Security Cooperation Agency, REPORT OF ENHANCEMENT OR UPGRADE OF SENSITIVITY OF TECHNOLOGY OR CAPABILITY, Reported to Congress on 7 February 2025, published in the Federal Register, Tuesday 13 January 2026. Reports on an additional 10,000 M107 and/or M795 High Explosive Projectiles plus various 155mm projectiles. Value of $312.5 million. Update to the original notification of December 29, 2023. ↩︎
Ewen Levick, US approves Australian TNT for military use, Australian Defense Magazine, 17 September 2021. JPEO Armaments and Ammunition, 155mm Artillery Munition System & Suppliers. ↩︎
Capability Program Executive Ammunition & Energetics, 2026 Product Portfolio Book, Artillery Ammunition: 155mm, p.59, Artillery Ammunition: Charges, p. 70-71. ↩︎
W15QKN19D0074 Indefinite Delivery Contract, accessed August 2026. ↩︎
Steven Morani, Address to the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Tactical and land forces on Army and Industrial Base Modernisation, June 11 2025, p.6. ↩︎
Australian Government Defense Ministers, Australia fires up second artillery forging capability, 8 June 2026. Thales, Thales Australia Welcomes Appointment as a GWEO Strategic Partner, 30 October 2024. ↩︎
David Milner, Penny! Are 191.5 tons of nitrocellulose we sent to Israel “nonlethal in nature”? , The Shot, 17 September, 2026. ↩︎
Australian National Audit Office, Defence’s Management of Contracts for the Supply of Munitions — Part 1, June 2024. Initial announcement: Minister for Defence and Minister for Defence Industry, Securing domestic manufacturing capability for Australian Defence Force munitions, 29 June 2020. Australian Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Public Works, Redevelopment of Propellant Manufacturing and other Specified Capabilities at Mulwala, 2007, Para 3.10, p.11, Para 3.29 and 3.24, p.14 ↩︎
Thales Australia, Thales Australia and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems delivering for the ADF, 11 June 2019. Also ‘This agreement was enabled by the United States Government’s expanded definition of their National Technology and Industrial Base to include Australia.’ ↩︎
Charbel Kadib, Thales Australia gears up for local projectile artillery production, Defence Connect, 6 December 2021. Jen Judson, US Army hunts for explosives to meet increased munitions output goals, Defense News, Feb 7, 2024. On the lack of domestic US TNT supply see Roxana Tiron and Billy House, America’s War Machine can’t make basic artillery fast enough, Bloomberg, June 7 2024. ↩︎
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Joint Statement Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2021 (Ministers Peter Dutton and Marise Payne), September 2021. ↩︎
Dave Milner, Australia is manufacturing explosives for Israel’s atrocities, The Shot, 2 June, 2026. ↩︎