Steel Cut on Australian Army Landing Craft Heavy as Western Australia Shipbuilding Advances

11 November 2026
Edited By: Ed Freeman

The transformation of the Australian Army into a force optimized for amphibious operations and long-range strike is advancing, with construction in Western Australia of landing craft vessels now progressing to a new phase.

Construction of the Army’s Landing Craft Heavy is now underway and on schedule with steel cut on the first vessels late last month.

The Albanese Government has awarded over $5 billion in contracts to deliver 18 Landing Craft Medium and eight Landing Craft Heavy for Army, a project that has already boosted employment and local economic activity. The project will create 1,100 direct jobs and more than 2,000 indirect jobs in Western Australia and directly support the Government’s commitment to continuous shipbuilding in the state.

Capable of transporting combined-arms land systems, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Abrams main battle tanks, and reconnaissance and infantry fighting vehicles, the vessels will strengthen the Australian Defence Force’s ability to hold potential adversaries at risk and secure strategic terrain.

This significant progress demonstrates the Albanese Government’s commitment to delivering Army’s future littoral fleet, while advancing the priorities of the National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program, strengthening Australia’s sovereign defense industrial base, and creating skilled employment.

In a further boost to Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding capability, the Albanese Government’s National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) last month announced a $245 million loan to Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia Pty Ltd to support the construction and fit out of Landing Craft Heavy facilities within the Australian Marine Complex.

The project—part of the Albanese Government’s record investment in Defence—represents the largest recapitalization of Army’s littoral capability since the Second World War.

Australia’s Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Pat Conroy MP, said: “Progress in constructing Army’s landing craft fleet marks the transition from design into delivery and an important step in building a critical capability for the Australian Defence Force.

“As construction activity ramps up, we are creating thousands of jobs for locals, providing businesses the confidence they need to invest and grow their workforce.

“These two landing craft projects are critical to the Albanese Government’s continuous shipbuilding plan for WA, which is providing job security for generations to come, and making Australians safer.”