Defence invests $5 billion in Landing Craft for Army

Defence has now placed orders worth some $5 billion for 26 Landing Craft Medium and Heavy for the Australian Army. These contracts, signed with Defence’s strategic Western Australian shipbuilder, Austal Defence Australia, represent a major investment in Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability, said Defence in a media release.

“The Landing Craft program will further strengthen our sovereign industry, supporting continuous shipbuilding in Western Australia and ensuring Australia has the industrial capability and depth to keep Australians safe,” said Pat Conroy, Defence Industry Minister.

“The combined delivery of landing craft capabilities is expected to create more than 1,100 direct and 2,000 indirect jobs, providing a sustained pipeline of work that incentivises defence industry investment in skills, supply chains and infrastructure.”

The Government is investing $4 billion in Army’s future Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) through a contract covering the scope, timeline and material requirements that will see eight vessels, based on the Damen LST100 design, built at WA’s Henderson Shipyard.

These vessels will be capable of transporting more than 500 tonnes of long-range precision strike weapons and other units by sea, greatly enhancing the ADF’s amphibious capability and ability to provide humanitarian and disaster relief, the release says.

The contract specifies an overall Australian Contract Expenditure of more than 60 per cent, supporting local and regional businesses and incentivising industry investments in workforce, supply chains and infrastructure.

The first tranche of these vessels will be constructed at Henderson’s Common User Facility (CUF), before the program moves to a permanent location. As part of the LCH program, the Government will also make available an initial $30 million for the Western Australian Government to commence early works for interim replacement facilities for non-Defence industries that utilise the CUF to ensure they are afforded ongoing access to infrastructure.

This follows the Defence’s previous $1 billion order for Austal Defence Australia to design, build and deliver 18 Landing Craft Medium (LCM), further consolidating Western Australia as a national shipbuilding hub.

Together, these milestones for the LCH and LCM represent the largest recapitalisation of Army’s littoral capability since the Second World War, says Defence.