AustalUSA to build Army, Navy transport ships

[unhappycamper]

AustalUSA to build Army, Navy transport ships
By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 13, 2008 18:48:48 EST

AustalUSA, a small, “midtier” shipbuilder in Mobile, Ala., emerged as the winner Thursday in a three-way competition to build a new high-speed transport for the Army and Navy.

The contract to build up to 10 Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs) is worth $1.6 billion if all the initial options are exercised.

Unofficially, the program could grow to more than twice that — Pentagon planners are said to be revising upward the number of JHSVs they want to buy, perhaps to as many as 25 ships.

For several years, the Pentagon has leased high-speed ferries for operation by the Navy, Marine Corps and Army. All of those ships came from the Australian firms of Austal or Incat, specialists in designing and building aluminum, high-speed commercial and military vessels.

For the JHSV contract, AustalUSA — Austal’s U.S. subsidiary — won out over Incat, which was teamed with Louisiana shipbuilder Bollinger, and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, which teamed with Rolls-Royce.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/11/defense_highspeedvessel_111308/%2e



uhc comment: These are the same guys that built one of the two $600,000,00 littoral combat ships we own.