Austal Delivers Littoral Combat Ship 10 to US Navy

Austal Limited (Austal) (ASX:ASB) is pleased to announce the future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) has been delivered to the United States Navy (USN) during a ceremony held aboard the ship at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

The future USS Gabrielle Giffords is the fifth Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) delivered to the USN since 2009 and the fourth naval vessel delivered to the USN by Austal USA in 2016; including 2 x Littoral Combat Ships (LCS 8 and 10) and 2 x Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF 6 and 7).

Designed in Australia by the team bidding for the Commonwealth of Australia’s Offshore Patrol Vessel (SEA1180) program, the 127 metre frigate-sized Littoral Combat Ships are constructed in Mobile, Alabama utilising Austal’s Module Manufacturing Facility (MMF), which offers production-line efficiencies and industry leading productivity.

Announcing the delivery, Austal Chief Executive Officer David Singleton said: “Gabrielle Giffords joins Independence, Coronado, Jackson and Montgomery as the fifth Littoral Combat Ship Austal USA has delivered to the US Navy. This vessel further demonstrates our capability to successfully deliver large, complex naval programs and reinforces our ability to transition an innovative, effective design not just across shipyards but continents.

“The Independence-variant LCS platform has gone from strength to strength, as the first LCS variant to be fitted with a Harpoon Anti-ship Missile System and the first US Navy class of vessel to successfully pass shock testing since 2008,” Singleton added.

Six additional Independence-variant LCS are under construction at Austal USA under an 11 ship contract worth approximately US$4 billion. The future USS Omaha (LCS 12) and Manchester (LCS 14) are preparing for sea-trials, Tulsa (LCS 16) and Charleston (LCS 18) are in Assembly and modules for Cincinnati (LCS 20) and Kansas City (LCS 22) are underway in the MMF. Austal delivered USS Jackson (LCS 6) in August 2015 and USS Montgomery (LCS 8) in June 2016.

The future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS10) is the fifth Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship to be delivered by Austal to the US Navy (Photo: Austal)

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About Austal

Austal is a global defence prime contractor and a designer and manufacturer of defence and commercial ships. For more than 28 years Austal has been a leader in the design, construction and maintenance of revolutionary ships for governments, navies and ferry operators around the world. More than 255 vessels have been delivered in that time.

Ships

Defence vessels designed and built by Austal include multi-mission combatants, such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) for the United States Navy and military high speed vessels for transport and humanitarian relief, such as the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships for the U.S. Navy and High Speed Support Vessel (HSSV) for the Royal Navy of Oman. Austal also designs, constructs, integrates and maintains an extensive range of patrol and auxiliary vessels for government agencies globally, including the Cape Class Patrol Boat Program for Australian Border Force. Defence vessels are designed and constructed in Mobile, Alabama and in Henderson, Western Australia.

Austal has been at the forefront of the high speed ferry market since the early days of the industry. Our market leading designs of high performance aluminium vessels have long been at the heart of Austal’s research and development. Today, commercial ship construction is centred on our shipyard in Balamban, Philippines.

Systems

Austal has expertise in integrating complex systems into its ships, including ride control, ship management, and communication, sensors and weapon systems.

Support

Austal provides a wide range of support services, including through life support, integrated logistics support, vessel sustainment and systems support. These services are delivered through our global support network in the USA, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East together with partner shipyards worldwide.