Birdon was contracted by the Defence Material Organisation (DMO) to design and build 24 Bridge Erection Propulsion Boats (BEPBs) for the Australian Army. The vessels were to replace the existing fleet of Bridge Erection Boats (BEB). The $16 million contract included integrated logistic support, technical documentation and initial in-service training.

The project was undertaken in three key stages:

• Stage 1
  Initial design phase and the development of a prototype vessel
• Stage 2
  Engineering and fabrication of twenty-four (24) vessels
• Stage 3
  Three-year warranty and maintenance support for the vessels located in Darwin, Townsville, Sydney and Brisbane.

Birdon was also successful in its bid to provide Life of Type Extensions services for the BEPBs and is re-powering and refitting each boat with Birdon-owned NAMJet water jets for improved slow speed control and overall performance.