Navantia Australia and CIMIC Group company UG have announced they will bid for the Australian Army’s Project LAND 8710 Phase 1 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel Medium (LMV-M) requirement.

The tie-up comes after Navantia Australia – celebrating its tenth year of operations in Australia – first revealed its intentions to bid for the LCM-8 replacement program at June 2021’s LAND FORCES in Brisbane where it revealed a series of scalable and wholly-Australian designed landing craft variants named ‘Kodal’.

Navantia Australia Managing Director Israel Lozano said the partnership between Navantia Australia and UG offered combined experience in collaborating with both Navy and Army to deliver superior results. “Together we offer Defence a highly compliant design, cost effective delivery, surety of supply, contribution to the Naval Shipbuilding Plan and maximum Australian content,” he said in a release.

UGL Managing Director Doug Moss added that UGL brought substantial Australian heavy manufacturing expertise and genuine Australian sovereign capability to enhance Australian naval shipbuilding capability.

“I’m pleased that UGL has teamed with Navantia Australia to bring our substantial Australian heavy manufacturing expertise and genuine Australian sovereign capability to enhance the Australian naval shipbuilding capability,” he said.

The Navantia and UG bid will be going up against other teamings including Raytheon Australia and Austal, and Serco and Civmec.

The Request for Tender (RFT) for LAND 8710 Phase 1 closes on June 14.