Kongsberg Maritime has entered into an agreement with Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia (Austal Defence Australia) to supply Kamewa Steel Series waterjets for the Australian Army’s new Landing Craft Medium (LCM) fleet.
Under the agreement, Kongsberg Maritime will provide four Kamewa Steel Series waterjets for each vessel in the new class of landing craft to be delivered by Austal Defence Australia, a subsidiary of Austal.
The program comprises 18 Landing Craft Medium vessels, which will be constructed at Austal’s shipyards in Western Australia.
The Landing Craft Medium vessels are the first vessel class designed and constructed by Austal for the Australian Army under Australian Government’s Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement. The steel-hulled craft will be capable of transporting payloads of up to 80 tonnes.
The agreement further strengthens the long-standing relationship between Kongsberg Maritime and Austal, which has selected Kamewa waterjet propulsion systems for numerous naval and commercial vessel programs over many years.
Senior Vice President Waterjet System at Kongsberg Marine, Magnus Fahlén, said he was delighted to see the longstanding collaboration between Kongsberg Maritime and Austal extended to a new customer in the Australian Army.
"Austal has been a valued customer for Kamewa waterjets for many years across both naval and commercial vessel projects, worldwide. This latest agreement reflects the confidence Austal Defence Australia places in our technology and our ability to deliver robust, high-performance propulsion solutions for demanding operational environments. We look forward to supporting the successful delivery of the Landing Craft Medium fleet and contributing to a capability that will serve the Australian Army for decades to come," Fahlén said.
Chief Engineer at Austal Defence Australia, Tim Speer, said Kongsberg Maritime has supported the pre-contract LCM design activity with Cavitation Tunnel testing in their Hydrodynamic Research Centre.
“Kongsberg Maritime’s support was invaluable during the design phase, specifically ensuring that the propulsion system performance would be well understood and de-risked," Speer said.
Delivery of the waterjet systems will be aligned with Austal Defence Australia’s vessel construction schedule.