Austal : Award of US Frigate (FFG(X)) Concept Design Contract

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT

19 FEBUARY 2018

AUSTAL WINS CONTRACT FOR FRIGATE (FFG(X)) CONCEPT DESIGN BY UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

AUSTAL (ASX:ASB) today celebrated the US$15 million dollar fixed price contract for the Guided Missile Frigate FFG(X) Concept Design.

The contract will develop the Austal Frigate design to meet the FFG(X) system specification with the goal of reducing cost, schedule, and performance risk for the follow-on detail design and construction contract.

"Austal welcomes this contract as an endorsement of our advanced, technology focused design; something that underpins everything we do and is at the heart of what has built our reputation over the last 30 years," Austal CEO, David Singleton said.

"Our continued investment in research and development to support the technology of our vessels is what has kept our designs at the forefront of advanced naval capabilities," Mr. Singleton said.

"Austal's design department is always increasing its capability to offer the latest technological developments on all our platforms," he said

"Highly technical engineering, research and development, and advanced digital design concepts are continually improved to set the standard of what is possible in naval design.

"With this latest announcement, the United States has recognised the importance of being able to operate the most advanced naval vessels and we are excited to work with them to develop the technology to do this.

"Our design team in Mobile will be leading the work on the Austal Frigate, and I have every confidence that they will excel in delivering the next generation frigate design to support the United States Navy," Mr Singleton said.

The conceptual design effort will inform the final specifications that will be used for the detail design and construction request for proposal that will deliver the required capability for FFG(X).

Austal USA is already delivering two classes of ship for the United States Navy through the Spearhead Class, Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) and the Independence Class, Littoral Combat Ship.

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Austal is an Australian shipbuilder and global defence prime contractor which designs, constructs and sustains some of the world's most advanced commercial and defence vessels.

Austal successfully balances commercial and defence projects and celebrates 30 years of success in 2018. Austal has designed, constructed and delivered more than 300 commercial and defence vessels for more than 100 operators in 54 countries worldwide.

Austal is Australia's largest defence exporter and the only ASX-listed shipbuilder. Austal has industry leading shipyards in Australia, the United States of America and Philippines and service centres worldwide.

Austal delivers iconic monohull, catamaran and trimaran commercial vessel platforms - including the world's largest trimaran ferry and multiple defence programs such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) for the United States Navy. Austal has grown to become the world's largest aluminium shipbuilder.