by Tim Fish
Austal will deliver the 15th Guardian-class patrol boat out of a total of 21 and is building the Evolved Cape-class patrol boat.
Austal’s capture team leader Matthew Klingberg told AMR At Indo-Pacific 2022, the schedule for the 39.5-meter Guardian class was set under a $232 million contract awarded in 2016 for the SEA 3036 Phase 1 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPBR) program. The company delivered its first vessel in November 2018 and has delivered an average of one vessel every three months since then.
This is despite the challenges of COVID-19 and its impact on supply chains. “We’re on track to continue that rhythm until the end of the contract in 2023,” Klingberg said.
It takes 15 months to build each ship, and Austal is simultaneously building four ships at its Hope Valley Road shipyard near its Henderson factory in Western Australia.
Austal is building eight 58m Evolved Cape-class patrol ships in Henderson, a design developed from earlier Cape-class construction. Klingberg said the increase in crew from 22 on the Capes to 32 on the Evolved makes them an OPV-sized crew that can be trained for the Arafura-class OPV and transitioned upon delivery.
Klingberg added that the ships have a quality of life system on board that includes unsecured Wi-Fi to improve crew conditions and allow for greater access to family and friends.
Six vessels were initially ordered for $224 million in May 2020, until the government ordered two more for $86 million, bringing the total to eight.
The first Evolved Cape class vessel was delivered on March 23, the second is expected to be delivered in July, and the rest will take place in the fourth month of drumming. The last ship will be handed over in 2024.
The additional vessels will provide security for Henderson’s employees, and when the Evolved Cape class project is complete, Klingberg plans to launch the Land 8710 Phase 1A program for the company for a new long-range amphibious landing craft called the Littoral Motor Vessel-Medium (LMV) -M) if the company wins the competition.
He added that other orders could come from an expansion of the Guardian-class patrol boat program, as well as export opportunities to build Cape- and Guardian-class vessels for overseas customers.
