NEWS - ARTICLE

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP today announced the accelerated build of 18 new Landing Craft Medium at the Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia.

The Austal built vessels, which were designed by Birdon, will create up to 1100 jobs for the defence industry workforce and support a strategy of denial by deploying and sustaining modernised land forces with long-range land and maritime strike capabilities across the region.

The Landing Craft Medium will be part of Army’s broader fleet of vessels including Landing Craft Heavy and the Amphibious Vehicles Logistics. These vessels will form three Landing Craft Battalions, co-located with Army’s Combat Brigades.

The $2 billion project will be a pilot program for the Government’s Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement with Austal at Henderson. Defence has now commenced a procurement process to select a mature Landing Craft Heavy design, also to be built by Austal at Henderson.

“The Albanese Government has an unwavering commitment to safeguarding Australians and their national interests, which is why we are making a record investment in defence and modernising the ADF.

“Building Australia’s new fleet of landing craft is also part of the Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding in Western Australia and a future made in Australia. This pipeline of work will result in opportunities for the Australian defence industry and support a highly skilled shipbuilding workforce for years to come," said Minister Conroy.

“These new vessels will enable the ADF to deploy and sustain land forces to beaches, rivers and ports in Australia and across our region, enhance our ability to work with regional military partners, and support communities across the Indo-Pacific with humanitarian and disaster relief operations.”

The first of the medium landing craft vessels, is expected to be delivered in 2026.