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Australian specialist and tactical watercraft manufacturer The Whiskey Project has been selected to deliver two all-aluminium Landing Craft Light for use on the Royal Australian Navy’s ADV Reliant.
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The company claims that the new capabilities will be faster and more capable than legacy craft.
Measuring at 15.4 metres, it is larger than the current Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel that are often used on the ADV Reliant and HMAS Choules and is capable of carrying 4.5 tonnes of cargo, including a light vehicle, containerised stores or up to 30 personnel, The Whiskey Group revealed. While it is powered by triple 300 hp diesel outboard motors.
The construction of the capability is scheduled to begin in August 2024 in the company’s Yamba yard on the north coast of NSW.
The design of the vessel is based off the company’s Pioneer multi–purpose utility craft.
It comes just months after the company confirmed it has delivered two multi-mission reconnaissance craft to the US Marine Corps.
The group secured the contract following a comprehensive competitive evaluation process which saw The Whiskey project awarded a AU$33.8 million contract for a number of its eight-metre Whiskey Alpha and 11-metre Whiskey Bravo vessels.
The vessels were accepted by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, from where reconnaissance Marines will use the watercraft to host and trial a range of payloads.
A spokesperson for the group welcomed the ongoing collaboration between the Australian company and the US Marine Corps, suggesting that it represents one of the first industry-led examples of AUKUS Pillar II technology sharing.
The Whiskey Bravo vessel brings together almost 50 US and Australian original equipment manufacturers across systems, sensors modular mission sets, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
