Austal Limited has announced that Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia Pty Ltd has been awarded a contract worth approximately $4 billion for the construction of eight Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels.
The contract has been awarded under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia, following announcements earlier today by the Deputy Prime Minister and minister for defence, Richard Marles, and the minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy. The contract is scheduled to be executed at Henderson later today, with Austal to confirm execution in a separate short announcement to the ASX.
Construction of the 100-metre Landing Craft Heavy vessels, based on the Damen LST100 design, will take place at Austal’s facilities and the Common User Facility at Henderson in Western Australia. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with the eighth and final vessel scheduled for delivery in 2038.
Austal Limited chief executive officer Paddy Gregg said the award reinforced the company’s position as the Commonwealth’s sovereign shipbuilder and a trusted partner to the Australian Defence Force.
“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 contract would generate a record order book for Austal, provide a long-term demand signal for the supply chain, and incentivise further investment in capability.
“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.
“While Austal’s US business has traditionally accounted for a large share of our defence order book in recent years, this contract reflects the growing strength and success of Austal’s Australian operations – and Australian industry – within the national shipbuilding and sustainment enterprise.
“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.”
Austal Defence Australia executive general manager – strategic shipbuilding, Gavin Stewart, said the Landing Craft Heavy contract 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.”
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.
Each vessel will measure approximately 100 metres in length, with a beam of 16 metres and a displacement of around 3,900–4,000 tonnes. They will be capable of carrying more than 200 embarked soldiers, along with heavy equipment such as six M1A2SEP3 Abrams tanks or nine Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
Austal also noted that Austal USA is currently constructing up to 12 smaller Landing Craft Utility vessels for the US Navy at its Mobile, Alabama shipyard.
The announcement was approved and authorised for release by Paddy Gregg, Austal Limited’s chief executive officer.
