Overview
- The Commonwealth and Austal executed the contract on 20 February 2026 at Henderson under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement and Project Land 8710 Phase 2.
- Eight 100‑meter LCHs based on the Damen LST100 design will be built at Austal’s Henderson sites and the Common User Facility, with construction starting in 2026 and final delivery in 2038.
- Australia’s Department of Defence cites a 500‑tonne payload, capacity for over 200 embarked personnel, and space for either six M1A2SEPv3 Abrams tanks or nine Redback infantry fighting vehicles.
- Government statements project more than 1,100 direct and over 2,000 indirect jobs in Western Australia and target over 60% Australian contract expenditure.
- The award follows the A$1.03 billion Landing Craft Medium deal in December 2025, advancing a continuous sovereign shipbuilding pipeline as Austal also pursues related landing craft work in the United States.