Austal USA was awarded a modification to a previously awarded contract for additional Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships.

According to the Department of Defense, Austal USA has been issued a fixed-price-incentive firm target modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-2301) to exercise options for the construction of two fiscal 2019 littoral combat ships (LCS).

Also said that the U.S. Navy has not completed the competition for fiscal 2019 LCS class ships, therefore, the specific contract award amount for these ships is considered source selection sensitive information (see 41 U.S. Code 2101, et seq., Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 and FAR 3.104) and will not be made public at this time. 

Austal USA will perform and oversee all necessary design, planning, construction, and test and trials activities in support of delivery of these ships to the Navy.

Work is expected to be complete by September 2025.

Austal delivered the future USS Charleston (LCS 18) to the Navy more recently and is scheduled to deliver USNS Burlington (EPF 10) before the end of the year. With eight LCS and nine EPFs already delivered, Austal-built ships are impacting worldwide operations.

The LCS is the most advanced high-speed military craft in the world and is intended to operate in coastal areas around the globe. As a key part of the U.S. Navy fleet, they are highly maneuverable and configurable to support mine detection/elimination, anti-submarine, and surface ship warfare.

The trimaran hull form provides the ship with superior seakeeping, fuel efficiency, survivability and the capacity to carry a large, modular cache of weapons packages.