Posted on 12/23/2010 10:43:05 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
WA company to build US navy warships
By David Weber
Updated Thu Dec 23, 2010
United States president Barack Obama has signed off on a deal for a West Australian company to build 10 warships for the US navy.
Austal will construct the warships at its yard in Alabama in a contract worth more than $4 billion.
The Perth-based company has designed a 127-metre multi-purpose vessel called the Littoral Combat ship.
Austal chief operating officer Andrew Bellamy says the aluminium trimaran has been developed for action close to shore where larger ships cannot operate effectively.
"Effectively it was invented in Western Australia by guys in our design and R&D groups and that technology, to have that adopted by the US navy, is the biggest tick in the box that you could ever get and something that we're really proud of," he said.
He says the trimaran can be equipped for multiple applications.
"It's got a very large hangar space and in that hangar space there's a place where you put mission modules," he said.
"You basically install a module specific for the task that the ship is undertaking at the time, which could be mine sweeping, humanitarian relief, anti-submarine warfare.
"It's a customisable product that allows the navy basically to be able to do two or three jobs with one ship instead of two or three specialist ships."
The original order for 20 warships was split and Lockheed Martin will build the other ten.
The deal needed US government approval and a bill, which was passed by the Senate, was then signed by Mr Obama.
The ships will have to be built in the US but the order is a massive boost for Austal, which has faced some challenges.
Earlier this year, the company closed its yard in Tasmania but Mr Bellamy says the company is now forging ahead.
"We've had a pretty reasonable run in a tough environment," he said.
"Right now our Australian business is facing up to difficult times with a very strong Australian dollar, which obviously impacts our competitiveness in international markets."
The contract is expected to be officially offered to Austal next week.
This translates into how many American jobs???????????
The ships will have to be built in the US...
So, they couldnt find an American company to do this?
They are built in Austal’s boatyard in Alabama (I think that’s where it is. They are defiantly built in the US).
No doubt the bill was sponsored by John Kerry.
Exactly my point. American ingenuity just got a slap in the face by the self-proclaimed jobs-creator.
The Independence is the first of the Austal-designed ships.
Both LCS variants have foreign antecedents with designs being licensed to US companies.
Austal design and build the best high speed trimarans in the world.
By union labor.......
That goes without saying in ship building and aircraft manufacturing.
There you go!
Just a WTF moment
Now you leave our senator alone.
And go to bed.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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