PANAMA CITY, FL – Congressman Neal Dunn, M.D. (Florida-02) released a statement following the news that three senior executives of Austal Limited manipulated financial information to cover up not meeting target goals on U.S. Navy projects.

“The news of Austal executives lying and covering up vital information is not the least bit shocking,” said Congressman Dunn. “This company has a history of missing deadlines and underquoting costs. I urge the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard to stop working with Austal.  This deceitful company should not be trusted with producing our nuclear submarines and U.S. Coast Guard offshore patrol cutters.”

Background information –

Austal Limited is an Australian corporation headquartered in Henderson, Western Australia. The U.S. Navy awarded Austal USA a contract to build Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The LCS ships delivered to the Navy are plagued by cracked hulls, broken equipment, and technologies that do not work. Since then, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard have awarded Austal USA with contracts to produce nuclear submarines and offshore patrol cutters.

Congressman Dunn recently highlighted his national security concerns during the first Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party hearing by highlighting the similarities between the U.S. Navy’s LCS and the Chinese equivalent. The congressman also sent multiple letters to the Biden Administration urging an investigation into Austal USA’s relationship with China. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on March 31^st, 2023, that Austal USA’s former president, Craig D. Perciavalle, its current director of financial analysis, Joseph A. Runkel, and former director of the Littoral Combat Ships program, William O. Adams have been charged with orchestrating a fraudulent revenue recognition scheme that allowed its parent company to meet or exceed analyst expectations.

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