Austal has announced that it has been awarded construction contracts by the US Navy to build two additional Independence class Littoral Combat Ships.
These ships will be the sixteenth and seventeenth in the class.
The specific value of each contract is under the congressional cost cap of US$584 million per ship (roughly A$1.6 billion for both vessels).
The frigate-sized vessel was originally designed in Henderson, WA. The vessel design has been transferred to Austal USA and build is undertaken in the Austal shipyard based in Mobile, Alabama.
“This latest order from US Navy is a tremendous endorsement of the Austal LCS platform and further evidence of the important role Austal plays in building the US Navy,” Austal CEO David Singleton said.
“We continue hearing positive feedback from the fleet commanders on how well our ships match their mission requirements as they operate globally.”
Austal has handed over three LCS vessels to the Navy this year.
Construction of LCS 32 is scheduled to begin in 2019 with delivery of LCS 34 expected to occur in mid fiscal year 2023.