Birdon Group’s Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel-Medium (LMV-M) design will form the basis of the Army’s next-generation Landing Craft Medium (LCM) which will replace the Army’s ageing Landing Craft Mechanised Mk 8 (LCM8). While the firm had originally planned for Echo Marine Group (EMG) to build the vessels at its Henderson facility, the government has announced that Austal will instead construct them at its shipyard there.
Birdon’s design for LCM was by far the largest offering for the LCM-M program at nearly 60 metres long, compared to Navantia’s mere 39m. In February this year, Birdon started construction on a full-scale prototype of its design at EMG’s facilities. However, it’s not clear how far along that build is.
Under the new contract, Birdon and Austal will build a total of 18 vessels to replace 15 LMC8s. These will equip the Army’s new “Littoral Lift Groups” which will be stood up in Brisbane, Cairns, and Darwin from next year. According to the Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, the first new LCM will be delivered in 2026.
There is still no news, however, on efforts to replace Army’s Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo 5 Ton (LARC-V) wheeled amphibious cargo vehicles. This effort was originally part of the LMV-M project, however, Naval News understands that the new contract has no bearing on the LARC-V replacement effort.
Austal To Build More Capes, Heavy Landing Craft
Contingent on its performance through the LCM build program, Austal will also build the Army’s new Landing Craft Heavys (LCH) at Henderson. The LCH program, formerly known as Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel Heavy (LMV-H), is still in the early stages of development and final requirements have not been released to industry. Nevertheless, Minister Conroy said that the LCH platform will now be delivered to Army from 2028, rather than the mid 2030s.
Naval News understands that Navantia Australia, Serco, and a team of BMT, Rayttheon and Austal are all crafting designs to fulfil the potential requirement which will be more akin to the U.S Marine Corps (USMC) Landing Ship Medium (LSM) or a traditional Landing Ship Tank (LST).
Austal has also been awarded an $157.1 million AUD contract to build two more Evolved Cape Class patrol boats for the RAN for a total of ten ships. Unlike the other Evolved Capes, which are dedicated to border protection duties, the two vessels will replace MV Mercator as the Navy’s at-sea navigation training platform.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles the new orders will secure the future of Austal’s Henderson shipyard which previously hasn’t had a sustainable amount of work to allow for continuous naval shipbuilding. To enable the new contracts, Marles said, Austal and the Government would enter into a new “strategic shipbuilder pilot program” through the signing of a “heads of agreement” that will govern the partnership.
“This significant reform will see Henderson become one of Australia’s biggest and most efficient naval shipbuilding complexes that has the capacity and capability to meet the evolving needs of our Defence Force. By securing the future of continuous naval shipbuilding at Henderson, industry will have the certainty it needs to invest in the local workforce and contribute to the West Australian economy for decades to come,” Marles said.
