austal progresses in us navy

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT / NEWS RELEASE
28 May 2004
AUSTAL PROGRESSES IN US NAVY
LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP PROJECT
Austal is one step from a construction contract for the United States Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project after the US Department of Defense announced today that it has awarded a US$78.8 million final design contract to prime contractor Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company which is teamed with Austal. The US Navy has nominated the LCS project as its number one priority and has identified a need for 60 vessels, with a total value of around US$14 billion, over a 15 year period.
Austal is the vessel designer and builder for the General Dynamics team which is one of two consortiums selected for the final design phase. The contracts include options to complete detail design and construction of a lead ship of this new high-speed surface ship class and it is anticipated that both teams will have contract options exercised to build two vessels each.
Austal’s Executive Chairman Mr John Rothwell said that the announcement was a very positive indication that the company would soon be building its first ship for the US Navy.
“The team is now in the final stage before the first construction contracts are awarded, and we expect this to lead to a shipbuilding contract, probably in the second half of next year,” he said.
Austal would build the lead and follow-up ships at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. Austal expects that it may begin constructing its first vessel in late 2005 or early 2006, a time frame that suits the company’s plans for staged development of its US facilities and workforce to the level required for efficient manufacture of vessels of this size. Orders for the next series of operational ships are expected to be placed while the initial vessels are being evaluated.
Commenting on the development of Austal’s defence business Mr Rothwell said recent successes pointed to the possibility for continued growth in this market.
“LCS alone has the potential to expand our US operations to be larger than our current Australian shipbuilding activities, and there is another significant US military project for high-speed theatre support vessels in the offing,” he said.
“Five years ago we took the initiative to establish a shipyard in the United States and that foresight is now being rewarded. Driven by the defence market, US demand for Austal’s products is now set to surpass our initial expectations and we are now ready to implement our plans for additional shipbuilding facilities and a larger workforce to provide the necessary production capacity.”
Although the ships will be built in the United States, there has already been a substantial benefit flow back to Australia where all ship design is carried out. Austal has already assembled a dedicated team of over 50 naval architects, engineers and other designers for the final design phase, creating local employment in the process.
Outside the US market, Austal already has sizeable orders from the Royal Australian Navy and the Republic of Yemen and these have cemented the company’s place among the world’s elite patrol boat suppliers.
“The company’s important role in the LCS program substantially raises our international profile in military circles and we are also examining other opportunities for further development of our defence business,” Mr Rothwell added.
In the longer term this could include the design and construction of larger naval ships in Australia, including LCS type vessels for international navies which may follow the lead of the US. Other navies are already examining the use of high speed ships for both combat and support operations and in this regard the selection of the General Dynamics team for the final design stage is an important endorsement of Austal’s innovative aluminium ship technology.
“Being asked to complete a design for a new generation of warship for the world’s largest and most powerful navy is clear recognition of our leadership in the field of fast ships for defence applications,” Mr Rothwell said. “It is also very satisfying that an Australian-owned company can export such important technology to a globally significant, cutting edge project such as this – it speaks volumes for the ‘can do’ attitude of our employees.”
Construction of a 127 metre long fast ferry based on the same trimaran hullform as proposed for the LCS is already well underway at Austal’s shipbuilding facilities near Perth, Western Australia. The commercial and military activities involving the trimaran are complementary - completion of the ferry later this year will provide full scale validation of the LCS proposal and the US Navy project adds further impetus to the already strong interest being shown in trimarans by ferry operators.

ENDS
For further information contact:
Sally Swingler
Public Relations Officer, Austal Limited
Telephone: 08 9410 1111
Mobile: 0439 968 516
Email: [email protected]

To obtain high resolution images to accompany this news release please go to the media section of the Austal website at: http://www.austal-ships.com/media/index.cfm or contact Sally Swingler.


BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)
The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a key element of the US Navy’s plan to address asymmetric threats. Intended to operate in coastal areas worldwide, the ship will be fast, highly manoeuvrable and geared to supporting mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare, particularly against small surface craft including terrorist boats.
The goal is to develop a platform (vessel) that can be fielded in relatively large numbers to support a wide range of joint missions, with reconfigurable mission modules to assure access to the littoral (near shore) environment while also being able to independently deploy over long distances and remain on station for extended periods.
Some of the key characteristics of the LCS include the following:
• Modular payload with rapid changeover capability to reconfigure in response to changes in mission, threat, and technology.
• Up to 50 knot (90km/h) sprint speed and maximum ranges exceeding 4000 nautical miles (7400km).
• Very low core manning for all ship navigation, engineering and self-defence functions.
• Very shallow draft to allow operations in littoral regions.
The LCS will rely heavily on manned and unmanned vehicles to execute assigned missions and will employ technologically advanced weapons, sensors, data fusion, C4ISR systems, hullform, propulsion, optimal manning concepts, smart control systems and self-defence systems.
The LCS must be capable of operating at low speeds for littoral mission operations, transit at economical speeds, and high-speed sprints, which may be necessary to avoid/prosecute a small boat or submarine threat, conduct intercept operations over the horizon, or for insertion or extraction missions.
Littoral Combat Ship Project
The US Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) has declared LCS to be his top priority, and the program is moving forward swiftly.
In November 2002, six 90-day concept studies were awarded for the Focused Mission High Speed Ship (FMHSS) study. General Dynamics led one of those studies, in a team that also included Austal.
Proposals were submitted for the seven-month LCS preliminary design phase and in mid-July 2003 three contract awards were made, with the General Dynamics team again selected for the next phase of the project with a US$9 million preliminary design contract. The preliminary designs were submitted at the end of January 2004.
General Dynamics LCS Team
Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company, is the prime contractor and leads an international team in which Austal takes the key role of the designer and builder of the trimaran platform.
Other team members include CAE, BAE Systems, Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems and four other General Dynamics companies: Advanced Information Systems, Armament and Technical Products, Electric Boat and General Dynamics Canada.
General Dynamics LCS Team proposal
The General Dynamics team’s LCS design is based upon Austal’s innovative, high-speed trimaran design that has been developed over a period of more than three years and which is currently being applied to both commercial and defence applications.
The 127 metre long, 30 metre wide trimaran would be built in aluminium and powered by two gas turbine and two diesel engines to reach sustainable speeds of nearly 50 knots (90km/h) and range as far as 10,000 nautical miles (18,500km). The ship is designed to allow a crew of fewer than 40 sailors to fully operate, maintain and defend it.
The flexibility, speed, endurance, volume, seakeeping, payload capacity, and manoeuvring characteristics of the trimaran, coupled with modular mission packages and other modifications to address military-specific requirements, provide an optimal solution for the US Navy’s LCS requirements.
Key characteristics of the ship proposed by the General Dynamics team include:
• Capable of supporting several missions simultaneously.
• Open-architecture information systems enable over-the-horizon surveillance and reconnaissance, global networking and coordinated air, surface and undersea tactical picture.
• Incorporation of stealth technologies increases ship and crew survivability.
• Shallow draft allows operations near the shore.
• More payload per tonne of displacement than any previous US warship.
• Huge interior volume delivers enhanced mission capabilities and endurance.
• Supports concurrent and simultaneous operation of two large (H-60) helicopters.
The trimaran’s characteristics also make it applicable to a wide variety of other domestic and international navy, coastal defence, and high-speed logistics support programs.