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Construction of the Army’s Medium Landing Craft Fleet Begins

Construction of the Army’s Medium Landing Craft Fleet Begins

The construction of 18 medium landing craft for the army’s new coastal fleet has been accelerated under the current government, although the previous government’s announcement of this project initially had the same delivery deadline.

FILE IMAGE: Concept design of Army’s new Landing Craft Medium. Note that the image shows one of these ships that unload two tanks, while the current story says the ship will have a maximum capacity of 90 tons (with tanks weighing about 70 tons each).

The first medium-sized landing craft, designed by Birdon and built by Austal at Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia, is expected to be delivered in 2026.

The local construction of the medium landing craft complements the eight heavy landing craft that Austal will build in Henderson.

With a range of up to 2,000 nautical miles when used with the Landing Craft Heavy, the Landing Craft Medium can carry up to 90 tonnes, the equivalent of four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), one main battle tank or one infantry fighting vehicle and two Bushmasters.

These vessels are an essential part of the Army’s transformation and optimization for coastal maneuvers.

They will support a denial strategy that involves deploying and sustaining modernized land forces with long-range land and sea strike capabilities in our region.

The government is investing a total of approximately $7 billion in coastal maneuvering vessels.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the construction of Australia’s new fleet of landing craft was part of the government’s commitment to continued naval shipbuilding in Western Australia and a future created in Australia.

“This pipeline of work will create opportunities for the Australian defence industry and support a highly skilled shipbuilding workforce for years to come,” Mr Conroy said.

“These new vessels enable the ADF to deploy and sustain land forces on beaches, rivers and in ports in Australia and across the region, and enhance our ability to work with regional military partners.”

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