The US Navy has ordered two additional Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) with Austal. By converting the options into actual orders, Austal's order backlog has grown by approximately USD 681.7 million.
Ten-Ship Block Buy
The LCS 14 and LCS 16 are the fifth and sixth ships in the ten-ship block buy award made to an Austal-led team in December 2010. That ten-ship programme is potentially worth over USD 3.5 billion. These two contracts will require Austal to increase its Mobile, Alabama workforce to approximately 4000 employees in order to fulfill the contract requirements.
Navy Orders
Austal has been contracted by the US Navy to build ten 103-metre JHSVs under a ten-ship, USD 1.6 billion contract, one of which has already been delivered, and eight 127-metre Independence-variant LCS class ships (including USS Independence, delivered to the Navy in 2009), six of which are a part of a ten-ship, USD 3.5 billion contract.
Recent Launches
USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) and Coronado (LCS 4) have both been launched and are preparing for sea trials later this spring. Construction of another three JHSVs and two LCSs is also underway in Austal’s Mobile, Alabama shipyard.
Teamed with General Dynamics
For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal, as prime contractor, is teamed with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. As the ship systems integrator for the LCS program, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s electronic systems including the combat system, networks, and seaframe control.
Picture: The Navy's first trimaran LCS, the future USS Independence (LCS 2), during Builder's Sea Trials in the Gulf of Mexico July 2009 (Copyright Austal).
