Austal Defence Australia has been awarded a contract valued at about A$4 billion for the construction of eight Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The LCH contract represents the company’s second major construction contract awarded under its Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia, following the award of the A$1.029 billion Landing Craft Medium design and build contract in December 2025.
The 100-metre LCH vessels are based on Damen Naval’s LST100 design; each boat has 500-tonne-plus payload capacity, meaning it is capable of carrying 200-plus soldiers plus numerous fighting vehicles: examples cited include six Abrams Tanks or nine Redback IFVs.
Construction of the eight LCH ships will be carried out by Austal at the Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia. Work will start later this year and the final boat is scheduled to be delivered in 2038.
Austal CEO Paddy Gregg commented: “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.”
He added: “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.”
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said: “These contracts will support thousands of direct and indirect jobs, while also equipping the Australian Army with the capabilities it needs for littoral manoeuvre and to undertake long range land and maritime strike.
“An increased focus on littoral manoeuvre will enable the ADF to respond more effectively in our region and keep Australians safe.”
Austal USA is also currently building up to 12 smaller Landing Craft Utility vessels for the U.S. Navy at its, American shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.
- You can read more details on the Austal website and the Defence Australia website