Navantia has celebrated the steel cutting of the first LCM-1E high speed landing craft, of a series of 12 that Navantia will build for the Royal Australian Navy, to be operating on board the ALHD Canberra and ALHD Adelaide.
These units are identical to the LCM-1E high speed landing crafts built by Navantia and in service with the Spanish Navy since 2007 and 2008.
Each LCM-1E weights 110 tonnes. The first four will arrive in 2014, when the first of the new ALHDs becomes operational.
The main characteristics are:
Lenght overall: 23.30 m
Floatation length: 21.27 m
Width: 6.40 m
Depth: 2.80 m
Propulsion: two 809 kW diesel engines, two waterjerts propellers.
Speed: > 20 knots
Autonomy: 190 miles at full load
[mappress]
Press Release, October 29, 2012; Image: navantia