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AAP
AAP
Tess Ikonomou

Army landing craft to be constructed by WA shipbuilder

New Australian army landing craft will be built at shipbuilder Austal's Henderson yard in Perth. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

New Australian army landing craft will be built under a deal with West Australian shipbuilder Austal.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy travelled to the Henderson shipyard in Perth to announce the agreement on Thursday.

Austal will build the landing craft for the Australian Army at its Henderson shipyard, which will support jobs at the facility.

Contracts worth $157.1 million were also awarded for two new Evolved Cape-Class patrol boats for the Australian Navy.

The defence strategic review, released earlier this year, recommended the army shift towards littoral operations such as amphibious landings.

Mr Marles said the "significant reform" meant Henderson would become one of Australia's biggest and most efficient naval shipbuilding complexes.

"By securing the future of continuous naval shipbuilding at Henderson, industry will have the certainty it needs to invest in the local workforce and contribute to the West Australian economy for decades to come," he said.

Mr Conroy said a continuous pipeline of work would create industry confidence to invest in a shipbuilding workforce in WA.

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