AUSTAL USA is expanding its ship repair capability with the launch of the first dry dock of its kind built for the US Navy in more than 40 years.
It has completed and launched its new Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock Medium (AFDM‑15), a 212‑metre‑long floating dock launched at Austal’s Mobile, Alabama shipyard in late July.
The company described it as the largest vessel launch in its 26‑year history.
The dry dock provides 18,000 long tons of lifting capacity and more than 90,000 square feet of working deck, enabling maintenance of a wide range of Navy vessels including Littoral Combat Ships, Arleigh Burke‑class destroyers, Ticonderoga‑class cruisers and dock landing ships.
Austal USA said the new dry dock is a cornerstone of its growing sustainment business, supporting the Navy’s push to expand domestic repair capacity and reduce maintenance bottlenecks across the fleet.
The company has invested heavily in its Mobile facility in recent years, backed by substantial US Navy funding to increase both shipbuilding and repair throughput.
The launch of AFDM‑15 follows Austal’s award of a US$488 million contract to design and construct additional floating dry docks, part of a broader strategy to strengthen the Navy’s industrial base and improve readiness.
The new dock will be fully operational once final outfitting and testing are complete, with first vessel maintenance scheduled to begin later this year.
Austal USA said the dry dock represents a major milestone in its evolution from a fast‑ferry and aluminium‑ship specialist into a diversified defence contractor capable of delivering steel ships, submarine modules and large‑scale sustainment infrastructure.