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Posted by Allen Newton
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5 May, 2026
WEST Australian-based shipbuilder, Austal, has landed an order for two more Evolved Cape-class patrol boats for the Australian Border Force (ABF).
The contract extension, valued at around $150.3 million, takes the number of ABF patrol boats built by Austal to six.
An Austal media release said the award follows the recent delivery of the tenth Evolved Cape-class patrol boat to the Royal Australian Navy, ADV Cape Hawke, in March 2026.
Austal CEO, Paddy Gregg, said the Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat Project (SEA1445-1) was a highly successful and critical element of Australia’s continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment enterprise, delivering effective maritime capability for the nation.
“Austal has delivered 10 Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats to the Royal Australian Navy in just over five years, and construction is well advanced on the first four vessels for the Australian Border Force,” Mr Gregg said.
“These additional two vessels further strengthen our record order-book of more than $17.7 billion, which includes 18 Landing Craft Medium and eight Landing Craft Heavy vessels to be delivered to the Australian Army, under the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia.
“Contract extensions such as this, along with other construction and sustainment programs in Australia and the United States—including aircraft carrier elevators and submarine modules for the US Navy—are contributing approximately $500–700 million annually to Austal’s order book.”
Austal delivered eight of the original Cape-class patrol boats to the Australian Border Force between 2012 and 2015. These were followed by additional vessels delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in 2017, and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard in 2021.
Since 2020, the Commonwealth of Australia has ordered 14 Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats for the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Border Force.
The Evolved Cape-class patrol boat design features expanded accommodation for up to 32 personnel, enhanced quality-of-life systems, and advanced sustainment technologies to maximise operational availability. The vessels are designed to support a wide range of missions, including border protection, fisheries enforcement, and national security operations.
Construction of the two new patrol boats will take place at Austal’s Henderson shipyard in Western Australia, supported by a national supply chain and integrated project teams from the Department of Defence and the Australian Border Force.
