Kongsberg Maritime to supply Kamewa waterjets for Australia’s fleet

Kongsberg Maritime has entered into an agreement with Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia to supply Kamewa Steel Series waterjets for the Australian Army’s new Landing Craft Medium fleet. The programme comprises 18 vessels, each to be equipped with four Kamewa Steel Series waterjets, constructed at Austal’s shipyards in Western Australia. The Landing Craft Medium vessels are the first vessel class designed and constructed by Austal for the Australian Army under the Australian Government’s Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement. The steel-hulled craft will be capable of transporting payloads of up to 80 tonnes, providing a significant amphibious logistics capability for the Australian Army. Kongsberg Maritime supported the pre-contract LCM design activity through cavitation tunnel testing at its Hydrodynamic Research Centre, de-risking propulsion system performance ahead of construction.