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WA company to build US navy warships (Australia)
ABC News, Australia ^ | Dec 23, 2010 | David Weber

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.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Business/Economy; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: austal; australia; lcs; warship
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1 posted on 12/23/2010 10:43:13 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: sukhoi-30mki


2 posted on 12/23/2010 10:45:32 PM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Visualize)
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To: sukhoi-30mki
Barack Obama has signed off on a deal for a West Australian company to build 10 warships for the US navy.

This translates into how many American jobs???????????

3 posted on 12/23/2010 10:59:26 PM PST by MamaDearest
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To: sukhoi-30mki
Are these different from Independence and Freedom?
4 posted on 12/23/2010 11:00:35 PM PST by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: MamaDearest
From the article:

The ships will have to be built in the US...

5 posted on 12/23/2010 11:04:17 PM PST by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: MamaDearest

So, they couldnt find an American company to do this?


6 posted on 12/23/2010 11:04:19 PM PST by ketelone
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To: MamaDearest

They are built in Austal’s boatyard in Alabama (I think that’s where it is. They are defiantly built in the US).


7 posted on 12/23/2010 11:06:05 PM PST by Dundee (They gave up all their tomorrows for our today's.)
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To: MamaDearest

No doubt the bill was sponsored by John Kerry.


8 posted on 12/23/2010 11:06:49 PM PST by Sparky1776
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To: ketelone
So, they couldnt find an American company to do this?

Exactly my point. American ingenuity just got a slap in the face by the self-proclaimed jobs-creator.

9 posted on 12/23/2010 11:07:24 PM PST by MamaDearest
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To: buccaneer81

The Independence is the first of the Austal-designed ships.


10 posted on 12/23/2010 11:07:31 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: MamaDearest; ketelone

Both LCS variants have foreign antecedents with designs being licensed to US companies.


11 posted on 12/23/2010 11:09:05 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: ketelone
So, they couldnt find an American company to do this?

Austal design and build the best high speed trimarans in the world.

12 posted on 12/23/2010 11:09:08 PM PST by Dundee (They gave up all their tomorrows for our today's.)
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To: buccaneer81
The ships will have to be built in the US...

By union labor.......

13 posted on 12/23/2010 11:17:01 PM PST by MamaDearest
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To: Sparky1776

14 posted on 12/23/2010 11:18:40 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet ("You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body." CS Lewis)
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To: MamaDearest
By union labor.

That goes without saying in ship building and aircraft manufacturing.

15 posted on 12/23/2010 11:19:18 PM PST by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

There you go!


16 posted on 12/23/2010 11:25:41 PM PST by Sparky1776
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To: ketelone
"So, they couldnt find an American company to do this?"

Austral was teemed with General Dynamics.
17 posted on 12/23/2010 11:39:58 PM PST by clearcarbon
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To: sukhoi-30mki
We don't have time to design/build war ships in the US anymore. We need to devote that time and manpower to filling out forms due to Fed regulations. We also have tons of solar panels and windmills to build. Anyone else feel we are not the same country we were a couple years ago?


18 posted on 12/23/2010 11:40:23 PM PST by Lazlo in PA (Now living in a newly minted Red State.)
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To: MamaDearest

Just a WTF moment


19 posted on 12/24/2010 12:35:14 AM PST by Core_Conservative (No longer a Republican - A Proud Constitutional Conservative)
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To: Sparky1776

Now you leave our senator alone.

And go to bed.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.


20 posted on 12/24/2010 12:40:32 AM PST by Former War Criminal (My senior Senator [who served in Vietnam and Rhode Island] said so.)
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