Australian Landing Craft Program Progresses

Austal is set to commence the initial phase of an ambitious program, constructing 18 Landing Craft Medium (LC-M) for the Australian Army at its Henderson facility in Western Australia. These new vessels will enhance the Army’s capabilities by forming three new littoral lift groups in Northern Australia, effectively replacing the aging fleet of Landing Craft Mechanised Mark 8 (LCM8).

The joint venture between Austal and Birdon, initially selected in November 2023, has now received formal approval. This phase of the project, valued at over $2 billion AUD (approximately $1.3 billion USD), will support over 1,100 jobs in Henderson. Pat Conroy, Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry, confirmed the project’s worth, noting that specific financial details remain confidential due to commercial sensitivities.

Designed by Birdon, the steel-hulled landing crafts measure 55 meters in length, with a draft of 1.4 meters and a beam of 10.5 meters. They are capable of carrying up to 90 tonnes, which includes the capacity to transport four fully-loaded High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), a main battle tank, or an infantry fighting vehicle and two Bushmasters. Construction of the first vessel is scheduled to begin in early 2025, with delivery anticipated in 2026, and the program expected to extend into the early 2030s.

These new vessels, displacing around 500 tonnes, will be considerably smaller than the future Landing Craft Heavy (LC-H) planned for phase 2, which will range from 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes. Minister Conroy emphasized the significance of this commitment, outlining plans to build a total of 26 landing crafts, including both the medium and heavy variants, the latter comparable in size to a frigate. The first LC-H is expected to be delivered by 2028.

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The Australian Department of Defence has indicated that, contingent on Austal’s performance with the LC-M contract, the company could secure the LC-H contract as well. To further strengthen their bid, Austal and Civmec announced a joint venture at the 2024 Indian Ocean Defence and Security Conference. This partnership aims to leverage Civmec’s extensive shipbuilding facilities and workforce, combined with Austal’s naval shipbuilding expertise, to deliver continuous naval shipbuilding in Western Australia. Phase 3 of Project Land 8710, focusing on firepower with the addition of “Fast Assault Craft,” is also on the horizon.