Austal has announced it has been awarded an approximately $4 billion contract by the Commonwealth Department of Defence to construct eight Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement.
In a statement, Austal said its subsidiary, Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia Pty Ltd (Austal Defence Australia), would execute the contract following an earlier announcement by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy.
The company said it would confirm execution of the contract in a separate announcement to the ASX.
Under the agreement, Austal Defence Australia will build the 100-metre Landing Craft Heavy vessels, based on the Damen LST100 design, at its facilities and the Common User Facility in Henderson, Western Australia.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with delivery of the eighth and final vessel expected in 2038.
Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the contract reinforced the company’s role in Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability.
“This contract represents another significant investment in Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability – and Austal Defence Australia is ready to deliver these highly capable vessels to support the ADF’s operational requirements,” Gregg said.
He said the award generated a record order book for Austal and provided a long-term demand signal for its supply chain.
“Constructing the Landing Craft Heavy vessels at Henderson will create and develop thousands of new, skilled jobs in Western Australia and provide further opportunities for the local defence industry supply chain,” he said.
Gregg also noted that while Austal’s US business had traditionally accounted for a large share of its defence order book in recent years, the new contract reflected the growing strength of its Australian operations.
“This LCH construction contract balances out the split and provides greater geographic diversity of earnings. It also provides earnings and employment stability for the next 12 years,” he said.
Austal Defence Australia Executive General Manager – Strategic Shipbuilding Gavin Stewart said the LCH program was the second major construction contract awarded under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement, following the $1.029 billion Landing Craft Medium design and build contract awarded in December 2025.
“With Landing Craft Medium and Landing Craft Heavy contracts now underway, there are outstanding opportunities for people and businesses to engage with Austal Defence Australia, and our industry and supply chain partners, to help deliver new capability for Australia,” Stewart said.
“These programs under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement represent decades of continuous naval shipbuilding work, to be delivered here in Western Australia,” he added.
According to Austal, the Landing Craft Heavy vessels will provide the Australian Defence Force with maritime capability to support amphibious operations, logistics, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief across Australia’s region of interest.
The vessels will measure approximately 100 metres in length, with a beam of 16 metres and a displacement of around 3,900 to 4,000 tonnes.
Austal said they are expected to carry more than 200 embarked soldiers and equipment including up to six M1A2 SEP3 Abrams tanks or nine Redback infantry fighting vehicles.
Austal also noted that its US arm, Austal USA, is currently constructing up to 12 smaller Landing Craft Utility vessels for the US Navy at its Mobile, Alabama shipyard.
The content of this article is based on information supplied by Austal Ltd. For more information, please refer to the official company announcement and communications from Austal. Please consult a licensed and/or registered professional in this area before making any decisions based on the content of this article.
