AUSTAL USA DELIVERS EIGHTH INDEPENDENCE-VARIANT LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP TO THE U.S. NAVY

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
1 MAY 2018

AUSTAL (ASX: ASB) today delivered its eighth Independence-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) to the U.S. Navy.

The future USS Tulsa (LCS 16) is the second Austal designed and built LCS delivered to the Navy this year and will be the thirteenth LCS to enter the fleet.

“The Austal team is excited to deliver another of these incredible ships to the US Navy. We are proud to be able to administer this program with efficiency and reliability,” Austal CEO, David Singleton said.

“The maturity and success of the LCS program is a direct result of the dedication and skill of the Austal employees, and the technology we have invested in Mobile in our next generation shipbuilding facility.”

“The advanced production process we have developed at Mobile is allowing us to roll out ships from the assembly bays one after the other in such quick succession offering a huge competitive advantage for Austal to be able to support the US Navy’s fleet expansion to 355 ships” Mr Singleton said.

Tulsa’s delivery precedes the future USS Manchester (LCS 14) commissioning, which will take place in New Hampshire at the end of May.

Five LCS remain under construction at Austal’s Alabama shipyard. Charleston (LCS 18) is preparing for sea trials. Assembly is underway on Cincinnati (LCS 20) and Kansas City (LCS 22) and modules for Oakland (LCS 24) and Mobile (LCS 26) are under construction. Construction on LCS 28, recently named Savannah, is to begin later this year.

Austal is also under contract to build 12 Expeditionary Fast Transport vessels (EPF) for the U.S. Navy. The company has delivered nine EPFs while an additional three are in various stages of construction.

Austal Media Contact:

Contact:             Gemma Whiting - Government Relations

Mobile:              +61 (0)408 982 727

Email:                gemma.whiting@austal.com

Website:            www.austal.com

About Austal

Austal is an Australian shipbuilder and global defence prime contractor which designs constructs and sustains some of the world’s most advanced commercial and defence vessels.

Austal successfully balances commercial and defence projects and celebrates 30 years of success in 2018.  Austal has designed, constructed and delivered more than 300 commercial and defence vessels for more than 100 operators in 54 countries worldwide.

Austal is Australia’s largest defence exporter and the only ASX-listed shipbuilder. Austal has industry leading shipyards in Australia, the United States of America and Philippines and service centres worldwide.

Austal delivers iconic monohull, catamaran and trimaran commercial vessel platforms – including the world’s largest trimaran ferry and multiple defence programs such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) for the United States Navy. Austal has grown to become the world’s largest aluminium shipbuilder.