Austal

David Brown and Peter Baker started Austal in Henderson, Western Australia, back in 1988. They built the company around a specific skill set: high-speed aluminum catamarans that could handle rough seas while moving fast. That early focus on lightweight materials and modular construction helped them grow from a small boat builder into a major defense contractor capable of handling massive steel-hull projects.

Their footprint expanded significantly across the globe, with operations now sitting on three continents. The Mobile, Alabama facility became a powerhouse for U.S. Navy contracts, while smaller sites in San Diego and Charlottesville supported regional needs. By 2017, the shipyard had already delivered more than 260 vessels to clients ranging from commercial ferry operators to the Royal Australian Navy.

In 2026, the company continued to push boundaries with heavy industry milestones. They launched the AFDM-15, a floating dry dock measuring 694 feet that weighed roughly 12,000 tons. This marked the largest vessel ever launched from their Mobile yard and represented the first new auxiliary floating dry dock built for the Navy in over four decades. Later that year, they also delivered the LCU 1710, their first steel-hull utility landing craft for the U.S. Navy. [edit]