The shipbuilder now expects its fiscal 2022 operating income to be higher than previously forecast A$107 million ($73.81 million) as a result of the contract.

The construction of the OPC will commence in 2023 at the company's new $100 million steel shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Alabama, the company said in a statement.

OPCs, a medium endurance fleet, can conduct missions including law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, and search and rescue operations.

($1 = 1.4497 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)