Land Warfare 2007: Landing craft aground

1 October 2007

By Gregor Ferguson

Defence has suspended trials of its six recently delivered LCM2000 landing craft after two of the vessels developed cracks during testing.

ADM understands the cracks appeared in bracing struts supporting the starboard sponsons of the two landing craft; the other four hadn’t shown signs of cracking as this edition closed for press but they were being examined.

No cause for the cracks had been determined at the time of writing, but ADM understands the LCM2000s have been used for lengthy open-water passages from Darwin to Townsville carrying significant payloads; on occasion they are known to have encountered sea state 5 and this may have contributed to the cracking.

Landing craft of this kind aren’t usually required to undertake such arduous voyages, being designed to carry troops, vehicles and stores much shorter distances from ship to shore.

The LCM2000 was designed and built by Thales Australia (formerly ADI Limited) to operate with the RAN’s two amphibious landing ships (LPA), HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla.

The six landing craft were delivered in December 2005 and have been undergoing a stringent test and evaluation program in Townsville.

CEO of the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), Dr Steven Gumley said, “The DMO is working closely with Thales to resolve this issue.”

There is no impact on Army watercraft capability as the LCM2000 fleet had yet to achieve operational status and is still under trial, he added. The Army watercraft capability will continue to be provided by the existing fleet of LCM8s.

ADI Limited was chosen to build the LCM2000 in 2002 under Phase 1A of Joint Project 2048.

It submitted an innovative proposal for a landing craft that would be some 60 per cent more efficient than the current LCM8 capability in landing a battalion group from an LPA offshore. Army’s goal was for a 30 per cent improvement over the current capability.

This was achieved by using bow and stern ramps which bestow a drive-through capability on the LCM2000, thus streamlining the process of loading traditional landing craft which normally must be berthed bow-on to the LPAs’ stern ramps.

To ease loading from the LPAs, ADI Limited also designed a floating pontoon which can support up to 45 tons of cargo; this would act as an interface between the LPA and the LCM.

The 25 metre-long LCM2000 is made of aluminium and uses water jets to provide a speed of 14kts and a draft of just 1 metre, maneuverability and fuel efficiency, while its dual cargo lanes double the available payload space. Importantly, it has a payload of 65 tonnes, sufficient for the Abrams tank.

The LCM2000 was required also to be light enough to be launched and recovered using the LPAs’ 70 tonne cranes; lacking a flooding well dock the LPAs carry their two LCMs as deck cargo, launch them by crane and then load them either from the stern ramp or by crane.

ADI and Defence signed the $32.7 million production contract and a $10.66 million 15-year in-service support contract in 2002, with the first LCM2000 due for delivery in late-2003 and the last due by April 2005. In the event, the project encountered severe delays with deliveries not starting until December 2005.

Defence sources declined to discuss when or whether the LCM2000 would in fact enter service aboard the Navy’s two LPAs. The department stated, in a written response to ADM’s questions, “The LCM2000 Watercraft are currently undergoing operational trials and evaluation for various roles prior to entering operational service. This evaluation has not yet been completed. Defence will not speculate on the suitability or unsuitability of the LCM2000 watercraft until after the operational evaluation has been completed.”