Major Shipbuilding Contracts Underpin Australian Army’s Transformation.

Canberra; February 2026: The Albanese Government has taken another significant step towards the Australian Army’s transformation to a littoral fleet, with the signing of two key contracts for Landing Craft Heavy and Landing Craft Medium.

Together, these contracts which have been signed with Defence’s strategic shipbuilder Austal Defence Australia, represent a major investment in Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability and is expected to create over 1,100 direct and more than 2,000 indirect jobs, particularly in Western Australia.

The Albanese Government is the first federal Government to commit to continuous naval shipbuilding in Western Australia. These contracts are the next step in delivering on this commitment.

Landing Craft (Heavy) –

The Government is investing $4 billion into Army’s future Landing Craft Heavy littoral fleet through a new contract covering the scope, timeline and material requirements that will see eight vessels built at WA’s Henderson Shipyard.

These vessels, designed by Damen Naval, will be capable of transporting more than 500 tonnes of long range precision strike weapons and other units by sea, greatly enhancing the Australian Defence Force’s amphibious capability and humanitarian and disaster relief.

Importantly, the contract signed today also represents a commitment by the Albanese Government to support a future made in Australia, with an overall Australian Contract Expenditure of over 60%, supporting local and regional businesses and incentivising industry investments in workforce, supply chains and infrastructure.

The first tranche of these vessels will be constructed at the Common User Facility, before the program moves to a permanent location.

As part of the Landing Craft Heavy program, the Government will also make available an initial $30 million for the Western Australian Government to commence early works for interim replacement facilities for non-Defence industries that utilise the Henderson Common User Facility (CUF) to ensure they are afforded ongoing access to infrastructure.

The Albanese and Cook Governments are committed to minimising the impacts to non-Defence industries at the CUF as work continues to deliver the Defence Precinct at Henderson, which will support 10,000 direct jobs over the next two decades.

Landing Craft (Medium) –

This follows the Government and Austal Defence Australia having signed a $1 billion contract to design, build and deliver 18 Landing Craft Medium vessels, further consolidating Western Australia as a national shipbuilding hub.

Together, these milestones for the Landing Craft Heavy and Landing Craft Medium represent the largest recapitalisation of Army’s littoral capability since the Second World War.

The expanded littoral fleet is central to Army’s rapid transformation under the 2024 National Defence Strategy and will significantly enhance the ADF’s ability to hold adversaries at risk, project and sustain capabilities and deny access to Australia’s northern approaches.

Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles have asserted, “The Albanese Government is delivering continuous naval shipbuilding in the West, and the construction of landing craft vessels at Henderson will be the first step. 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”.

Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy has said, “the Landing Craft program will further strengthen our sovereign industry, supporting continuous shipbuilding in Western Australia and ensuring Australia has the industrial capability and depth to keep Australians safe. The combined delivery of landing craft capabilities is expected to create more than 1,100 direct and 2,000 indirect jobs, providing a sustained pipeline of work that incentivises defence industry investment in skills, supply chains and infrastructure”.
Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer, Paddy Gregg, said the award of the Landing Craft Heavy contract to Austal Defence Australia under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement reinforced the company’s position as the Commonwealth of Australia’s sovereign shipbuilder and a trusted partner to the Australian Defence Force. 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. 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”, Paddy Gregg, Austal Limited CEO has informed.

Paddy Gregg has further reiterated, “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 Landing Craft Heavy was the second major construction contract awarded under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement, following the award of the $1.029 billion Landing Craft Medium design and build contract 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. Austal Defence Australia is looking forward to expanding and developing the industrial capabilities at Henderson and beyond, into a reliable shipbuilding enterprise to support the Commonwealth’s objectives of sovereign shipbuilding capability. 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 (LCH) vessels will provide the Australian Defence Force with a critical maritime capability, supporting amphibious operations, logistics, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief across Australia’s region of interest.

Key specifications:

• Length: Approximately 100 metres (approx. 328-330 ft)
• Beam (Width): 16 metres (52 ft 6 in)
• Displacement: Approximately 3,900 – 4,000 tonnes
• Capacity Examples: Over 200 embarked soldiers, plus 6 x M1A2SEP3 Abrams Tanks or 9 x Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles

Austal also notes that in addition, Austal USA is presently constructing up to 12 smaller Landing Craft Utility vessels for the US Navy at its Mobile, Alabama, US shipyard.

Team Maverick.