Austral shortlisted for LCS deal

Austal Ships is claiming that its success in making the short list for the preliminary design of the US Navy?s $10 billion Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project represents further proof of the suitability of aluminium ships for defence roles.

Austal Ships and Austal USA and their tender partner, the US defence giant General Dynamics, have been awarded one of three contracts for the preliminary design of an anticipated navy fleet of 60 LCS.

Austal managing director Bob McKinnon says the tender team?s LCS proposal was based on Austal?s 126m high-speed aluminium trimaran hull form.

“The US Navy would not have decided to include the General Dynamics LCS team?s aluminium trimaran in the second stage of the project unless it considered that aluminium ships can effectively meet its requirements for ships in combat role, including those related to survivability,” says McKinnon.

“This counters the misconception in some quarters that steel is the only suitable hull material for military vessels operating in harm?s way.

“This is clearly important for other defence contracts.”

The tender partners have until January to submit their design to the US Navy which will select two builders to build two prototype ships.

The vessels will be built in the US with the first prototype scheduled to begin construction in early 2005 and the other one in early 2006.

In late 2007 one team will be selected to continue with the program, commencing construction of three ships in 2008 and four in 2009.

McKinnon says taking part in the high-profile LCS project will raise international awareness about the capabilities of high speed vessels in a variety of defence applications.

He says construction techniques for the LCS project will incorporate additional analysis and testing to assess features such as blast protection, shock loading and ballistic protection.

The LCS structure will use aluminium alloys that are already in widespread use in the commercial aluminium shipbuilding industry such as the 5000 series alloys for plate and 6000 series for extrusions.

Plate thicknesses and other scantlings ? which will be varied throughout the ship ? will be optimised to provide the lowest possible lightship displacement while delivering the strength and durability required for the role. Austal will carry out an in-depth structural analysis, including a detailed, global finite-element analysis.

Austal and its shipbuilding neighbour in Western Australia, Tenix, have qualified for a final short list of two companies bidding for the Royal Australian Navy?s (RAN) replacement Armidale class patrol boats.

A decision on this A$380 million contract for up to 15 patrol boats is expected in September.