Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia (Austal Defence Australia) has secured an A$4bn ($2.8bn) contract from the Commonwealth of Australia to construct eight Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement.
The announcement follows statements made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy.
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The parties signed the contract on 20 February 2026 at Henderson, Western Australia.
Austal plans to construct the vessels at its Henderson locations and the Common User Facility in Western Australia, following the Damen LST100 design.
Each LCH will measure approximately 100 metres (m) in length and 16m in beam, with a displacement estimated between 3,900 and 4,000 tonnes.
The ships have capacity for over 200 embarked soldiers and can transport either six M1A2SEPv3 Abrams tanks or nine Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
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By GlobalDataWork is set to begin in 2026, with the final vessel scheduled for delivery in 2038.
Paddy Gregg, chief executive officer of Austal Limited, stated that the contract “reinforced” Austal’s standing as a sovereign shipbuilder and trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Gregg said: “This contract generates a record order book for Austal, provides a long-term demand signal for our supply chain, and provides the incentive to invest in uplifting our 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.”
The project will create thousands of skilled jobs in Western Australia, offering further opportunities for businesses within the defence industry supply chain.
“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,” Gregg added.
The new vessels are intended to provide critical maritime support roles for the Australian Defence Force, including amphibious operations, logistics missions, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief throughout Australia’s region of interest.
Separately, Austal USA is constructing up to 12 smaller Landing Craft Utility vessels for the US Navy at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.
In December last year, Austal secured a contract valued at A$1.03bn to design and construct Landing Craft Medium (LCM) vessels for the Australian Army.
