Kongsberg Maritime has entered into an agreement with Austal Defence Shipbuilding 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. The program comprises 18 landing craft medium vessels, which will be constructed at Austal’s shipyards in Western Australia.
The LCM vessels are the first class of vessels Austal designed and built for the Australian Army under the Australian Government’s Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement. The steel-hulled craft will be capable of transporting payloads of up to 80 tonnes.
Magnus Fahlén, Senior Vice President, Waterjet System at Kongsberg Marine, 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."
Tim Speer, Chief Engineer at Austal Defence Australia, 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."
Delivery of the waterjet systems will be aligned with Austal Defence Australia’s vessel construction schedule.