Posted on October 28, 2024
MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA celebrated the start of construction for a new manufacturing facility for submarine modules (MMF3) today. This new building, scheduled to be fully operational in late 2026, will significantly increase Austal USA’s capacity to support the U.S. Navy Submarine Industrial Base (SIB).
The new building will provide 369,600 square feet of indoor manufacturing space purpose-built to manufacture submarine modules. The production from this building will support the U.S. Navy’s goal of delivering one Columbia-class and two Virginia-class submarines annually. It will include a material storage area, machine shop, assembly area, and waterfront improvements to support the shipment of the completed modules via barge.
This project, combined with the recent groundbreaking for another manufacturing building, represent over $750M in expansion of Austal USA’s Mobile facility further solidifying Austal USA’s role as a major contributor to Alabama’s economy. The two buildings, when fully operational, will add over 2,000 new jobs. In 2023, Austal USA’s contracts were supported by 259 Alabama-based suppliers accounting for over $115 million of business. This includes 185 small businesses, over 50 percent of the total spend.
“Austal USA’s continued expansion in Mobile is a testament to Alabama’s growing leadership in the defense industry and our commitment to supporting our nation’s security needs,” Governor Kay Ivey said. “This new facility for submarine module manufacturing reinforces Austal’s vital role in delivering the advanced capabilities required by these vital submarine programs. The creation of 2,000 jobs and the investment in cutting-edge manufacturing technologies further demonstrates Austal’s dedication to both Alabama’s economy and our national defense.”
“Austal USA is committed to supporting national security initiatives like the Navy’s Virginia and Columbia-class submarine programs, evidenced by our aggressive infrastructure and workforce expansion efforts,” commented Austal USA President Michelle Kruger. “The key to our success is the strong partnerships we have built with not only our customers but also our employees and the amazing community surrounding us. We are grateful for the unending support we continue to receive from the city and county of Mobile and the great state of Alabama.”
In July Austal USA started construction on a new assembly building to enable the erection of large steel modules for Navy and Coast Guard ships, including the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and TAGOS-25 programs. The building will occupy four and a half acres providing over 192,000 square feet of new indoor manufacturing space. This project will include a shiplift system that features an articulated lifting platform approximately 450 feet long by 125 feet wide. The shiplift will provide a safe and reliable system to launch ships as they are completed in the assembly buildings and will also enable bringing ships back on the land-side facility for repair and maintenance.
Upon completion of these buildings, Austal USA’ s Mobile, Ala. ship manufacturing facility will include a 117,000 square-foot steel panel line, two module manufacturing facilities totaling over one million square feet of covered manufacturing space optimized for serial production, and seven assembly bays providing over 400,000 square feet of indoor erection space. In all, the Mobile facility covers 180 acres and, when this project is complete, over 1.5 million square feet of indoor manufacturing space.
