Arthur McMiler
Austal USA has secured a contract modification to add two landing craft utility 1700-class vessels to the three LCUs that the service initially ordered in September 2023, bringing the procurement’s value up by nearly $55 million.
The contract provides options for up to 12 vessels, with a potential total value of $379.7 million, Austal said Monday.
The Navy will deploy the steel-hulled LCUs with its amphibious assault ships for military mission support, such as troop, vehicle and cargo transport.
Offering a roll-on-roll-off capability, each vessel has a 13-person crew, a 170-ton heavy-lift payload capacity, top speed of 11 knots and a range of 1,200 nautical miles.
Paddy Gregg, Austal CEO, called the contract modification a confirmation of the company’s successful start to build the first ordered LCU at the company’s Mobile, Alabama, plant.
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