(Reuters) - Australia's Austal Ltd said on Friday it secured a $3.3 billion contract to design and construct 11 offshore patrol cutters (OPC) for the United States Coast Guard.

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)