Posted on December 12, 2023
Austal and Birdon Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop defence shipbuilding capability in Western Australia to deliver the Australian Department of Defence Landing Craft-Medium (“LC-M”) Project.
The formation of the MoU commenced in late November when Minister for Defence Industry, Hon. Pat Conroy, announced a Heads of Agreement (“HoA”) to establish a Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (“SSA”) between Austal and the Commonwealth, and named Austal as the preferred vessel constructor. Birdon was selected by the Commonwealth as the preferred designer for the LC-M Project.
Under the MoU Austal and Birdon have agreed to work with each other to jointly develop a costed proposal for the LC-M Project, along with exploring a range of other potential Defence shipbuilding opportunities.
Our CEO Jamie Bruce said the MoU was a signal of the intent of both companies to form a collaborative relationship for the design and build of LC-Ms.
“We are pleased that our LC-M design, which exceeds requirements and will deliver beyond any other vessel currently in-service or advertised globally, was the design preferred by the Commonwealth. We look forward to teaming with Austal to bring the design to life,” he said.
Austal CEO Paddy Gregg said “Austal has a very good track record of working effectively with third-party vessel designers and we look forward to working with Birdon to develop the MoU into a more substantive partnership so that we can deliver a capable and cost-effective LC-M program for the Army.”
