Page 106 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

106 LAND WARFARE LITTORAL MANOEUVRE
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
opportunities to ensure our solution supports the Army in Motion as they respond to accelerated warfare,” Ward said. “Importantly, we are ready to start work now to meet Ar- my’s timeline and have the experience to work with them to
realise the Australian ILMV’s full operational capability.” For its part as the designer of the vessel, BMT’s Senior Business Development Manager Trevor Dove said the ILMV had been designed specifically for the Australian
ABOVE: BMT displayed a model of its Caiman landing craft at the recent Indo Pacific exhibition in Sydney
“Over the past year, the design of the new Oboe Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel Medium (LMV-M) has been optimised and refined to meet the needs of the ADF and now rep- resents the next generation in amphibious capability,” ex- plained Serco Defence’s Managing Director Clint Thomas.
“With Serco and Civmec’s complementary capabilities and shared community values for realising the sustained growth of Australia’s Shipbuilding Industry, our alliance is set to de- liver proven benefits through uplifting Western Australian industry capabilities, matching Serco’s global shipbuilding expertise and reach with Civmec’s superlative workforce skills, proven technology and infrastructure capacity.”
The alliance will build the Oboe at Civmec’s shipbuild- ing facility in Henderson, which is currently involved in the construction of the majority of the Arafura-class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Royal Australian Navy under Project Sea 1180.
“This project builds on our experience gained through the ongoing delivery of the Sea 1180 Arafura-class OPV program. The LMV-M platform will allow us to continue to demonstrate our innovative approach to shipbuilding,” Civmec CEO Pat Tallon commented.
Serco Australia completed the first round of tank test- ing on the Oboe’s hull design at the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in Launceston in August 2021. The testing involved a series of speed and performance trials, utilising a 1/16 scale model of the design.
The Oboe design subsequently received a ‘Structure Ap- proval in Principle’ classification from the Class Certifica- tion Society (DNV) in July.
operating environment.
“LAND 8710 PHASE 1 SEEKS TO ACQUIRE UP TO 18 STEEL-HULLED VESSELS, WHICH ARE REQUIRED TO BE MANUFACTURED AT HENDERSON IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA”
“We are thrilled to be able to offer our customised Australian Independent Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel design, optimising stabil- ity, speed, endurance, fuel, stores and accommodation for indepen- dent and in-company operations. Our Australian ILMV is based on BMT’s existing landing craft hull form, a mature design in the running for Land 8710-1A,” Dove said.
“It is ready to be delivered, with growth margins for a future ready Army. Our partnership with Raytheon Australia and Aust- al brings the experience and pedigree capable of delivering a low-risk solution designed specifically for current and fu-
ture Australian Army Littoral Manoeuvre requirements.”
AUSTRALIAN MARITIME ALLIANCE
Serco Australia and Civmec have partnered under a joint venture structure to form the Australian Maritime Alli- ance (AMA) and are offering a design it has named Oboe for the Land 8710-1A component. The name Oboe reflects the heritage of amphibious operations undertaken by the Australian Army during the Second World War.
NIGEL PITTAWAY