The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) is providing $245 million of debt to Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia Pty Ltd (Austal Defence Australia (ADA)) to build an advanced manufacturing facility that will enable local production of Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) for the Australian Army at Western Australia’s Australian Marine Complex (AMC).
NRFC funding will be used to construct and fit out ADA’s AMC facilities with modular manufacturing capabilities to ensure delivery of the LCH project.
About Austal Defence Australia (ADA)
ADA is a subsidiary of Austal Limited (ASX: ASB), an Australia-based shipbuilder and Defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels.
The Commonwealth of Australia (CoA) and ADA executed the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (SSA) in 2025, making ADA Defence’s Strategic Shipbuilder in Western Australia. Under the Agreement ADA has been contracted to manufacture eight Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels by 2038.
Investment impact
Building sovereign military capability
NRFC investment will strengthen our existing naval shipbuilding capacity at the Australian Marine Complex in WA.
Landing Craft Heavy or LCH are capable of transporting more than 500 tonnes of embarked personnel, vehicles and equipment by sea, including long-range precision strike weapons and other units. Having access to a LCH fleet will greatly enhance the Australian Defence Force’s littoral capability and support humanitarian and disaster relief.
Building resilient supply chains
NRFC investment will help to embed vital domestic naval assembly and quality assurance capabilities onshore, reducing our reliance on offshore shipyards and providing our allies with a strategically important capability as they undertake the large-scale fleet replacement needed to ensure maritime security.
Tectonic shifts in the geopolitical environment mean that global naval shipbuilding market is projected to grow 25 per cent by 2033 and NRFC investment will enable Australia to capitalise on this market trend.
Creating jobs
Austal employs 1,200 people in Australia and NRFC investment in the LCH project will create an additional 780 West Australia based roles in skilled trades, engineering and advanced manufacturing.