Austal USA’s order backlog has grown by US$691 million as a result of two additional Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contract options being exercised by the US Navy.

The contract options fund construction of the ‘Gabrielle Giffords’ (LCS 10) and ‘Omaha’ (LCS 12), the third and fourth ships in the ten-ship block buy award made to Austal team in December 2010. The ten-ship program is potentially worth over $3.5 billion. Austal USA now holds confirmed contracts for 14 US Navy ships while Austal’s Australian shipyard expects to build eight patrol boats for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

The US Navy work includes contracts for nine Joint High Speed Vessels (JHSVs), two of which were confirmed in February. It also includes the ‘Coronado’ (LCS 4) which Austal was contracted to build as part of a General Dynamics Bath Ironworks team prior to taking over as the prime contractor for the ten-ship LCS award. LCS 4 and the first JHSV, USNS ‘Spearhead’, are currently being prepared for sea trials, with three other ships currently under construction in Austal’s US shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.