Australian large optionally-crewed surface vessel program


The Australian large optionally-crewed surface vessel program is a procurement program of the Royal Australian Navy aimed at delivering 6 large optionally crewed arsenal ships, armed with 32 Mark 41 vertical launching system cells hosting a range of surface-to-air, land-attack, anti-ship and possibly anti-ballistic missiles. The requirement for these vessels was outlined in the 2024 Surface Fleet Review.
The vessels were speculated to be of the same class as the related American program, however in November 2025 Australian shipbuilder Austal revealed their pitch, the Vantage-class

Design

The ships are intended to be based on the United States' future Large Uncrewed Surface Vehicle, nonetheless, shipbuilder Austal released a pitch for the program. The vessels are intended to be crewed, however the optionally-crewed nature allows for the ships to be autonomous when required. The ships are slated to have 32 strike-length Mark 41 VLS cells, the same number as the much larger New-FFM-class ships ordered for the RAN as well.

Ships