Australian firm Birdon Group awarded huge US security contract to protect inland waterways

An Australian maritime and defence contractor in Port Macquarie in NSW has shocked global bidders after it secured a $1.8 billion deal to help the US Coast Guard.

Birdon’s Port Macquarie facility is licensed to operate 24 hours a day seven days a week which allows for shift work for time critical projects.

A modest family-owned maritime engineering and defence contractor in regional Australia has stunned global military multinationals after being selected by the US Government for a sensitive $1.82 billion contract.

In a case of the mouse that roared, Birdon Group headquartered in Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast has been awarded the contract to build the US Coast Guard’s logistics vessels tasked with ensuring the US inland shipping lanes remain secure.

The contract for the new vessels was so critical that those applying were vetted by US Homeland Security to ensure the integrity of the US$5.5 trillion a year trade routes were not compromised thereby affecting the global economy.

Artist impression of the vessels being built for the US Coast Guard by NSW-based firm Birdon. Picture: Supplied

While other bidders launched formal protests at the awarding of the lucrative contract, that formal two-week review has now concluded with no change.

An elated Birdon chief executive and owner Jamie Bruce said the company has experienced continual growth in the US amphibious military and paramilitary market for many years and the 10-year US$1.19 billion contract represented years of hard work to deliver first-class solutions.

The contract will see 27 Waterways Commerce Cutters built for the US Coast Guard.

Birdon chief executive and owner Jamie Bruce awarded huge US defence contracts.

“Yes we are very proud to have been selected by the USCG to deliver these critical (assets) and it is testament to our ability that we can deliver to the client’s requirements,” Mr Bruce said.

“Birdon is building on its experience and expertise in leading program management, design, manufacture, and support of the USCG and US Army watercraft programs, by teaming with carefully selected partners.”

On the 5th of April 2022 Australian Ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos and Consul General Jane Duke visited the U.S. headquarters of the wholly Australian owned company, Birdon America, Inc.

When asked specifically about Birdon’s US inroads, Defence Minister Richard Marles said sovereign defence industry was critical not just to Australia’s security capability but the shared strategic view of AUKUS alliance partners.

Mr Bruce’s father Jim started the company as a dredging operation from a slip in Port Macquarie which has today grown to a multimillion-dollar shipyard.

He said establishing a US base in Colorado helped the firm’s development as did investing in the building of self-funded prototypes to validate performance.

Birdon Group delivered its second life boat vessel in 2021 to the U.S. Coast Guard. Picture: Supplied

The latest contract awarding comes off the back of other Birdon US army and navy military contracts including to design and build almost 500 Bridge Erection Boats (BEB) for the US Army at a cost of $545 million.

The need for such a vessel has been highlighted by the Ukraine-Russia war with bridge infrastructure being destroyed requiring portable pontoon bridges and powerful BEBs to hold them in place.

The US contracts saw the Birdon expand considerably and now boasts facilities at Portland, Connecticut, Bellingham Bay in Washington State and Denver.

Originally published as Australian firm Birdon Group awarded huge US security contract to protect inland waterways