HMNZS TE KAHA and HMNZS ENDEAVOUR sailed from Devonport Naval base at the beginning of June bound for Hawaii and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC 2012), being conducted from 29 June to 3 August. Other units from the NZ Defence Force are also taking part in the exercise—the Operational Diving Team
Work on building the Navy’s two newest boats—TAKAPU and TARAPUNGA—is advancing steadily at Opua in the Bay of Islands, at the hands of a team led by boatbuilder Perrin Clarke of Northland Spars and Rigging, under the eye of designer Alan Walker of Coastdesign Naval Architecture. Each 9.2 metres long
Australia’s national submarine builder and maintainer of the six Collins Class submarines – ASC Pty Ltd has signed a new contract with the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) for the maintenance of the Collins Class submarines going forward. The new In Service Support Contract (ISSC) was announced y
To strengthen its defence business development activities and capabilities Austal has appointed former Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Navy, Rear Admiral Davyd Thomas, AO, CSC, RANR to the executive position of Vice President – Defence. Austal Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bellamy said the ski
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced on June 30 that the Navy’s newest ship, Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield, had arrived in Australia. Ocean Shield arrived at HMAS Stirling late on 28 June. In March the Government announced it had p
The Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced that the Royal Australian Navy would participate in a unique deployment to Australia of the Spanish Armada Ship, SPS Cantabria, with a series of training exercises in Australia from mid-February until November 2013. The Cantabria deployment will str
Sailors from guided-missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71) took part in a four-day training exercise with the royal navy destroyer HMS Daring (D32) that concluded June 7. The first event between the ships was a weapons exercise. Cape St. George delivered a firepower demonstration firing on seve
A Hamilton Boys High School old boy is one of six new Navy Divers who have managed to pass the gruelling 16 week training course required to become an expert diver in the Royal New Zealand Navy. Ordinary Diver Samuel Dickey joined the Navy to travel the world and test himself both physically and men
An eight-man team from HMAS Stirling (CAPT Brett Wolski) successfully completed the 2012 Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge and raised much needed funds for the Ryan Marron Foundation as well as the Navy’s local charity, the Malibu School. The team of six riders and two support personnel chose
Leading electronics provider Kelvin Hughes has appointed global defence prime contractor Austal to lead its defence, border protection and paramilitary sales and support activities in Australia and New Zealand. The agreement will enable both companies to best support customers in Australasia. Under
The New Zealand Navy’s replenishment tanker HMNZS ENDEAVOUR has just finished providing approximately 70,000 litres of diesel fuel to the Cook Islands in response to the South Pacific country’s request for assistance. Commander Keith Robb, ENDEAVOUR’s Commanding Officer, said the fuel supplies will
The Dutch and Australian armed forces are looking into ways to intensify their cooperation with regard to cyber warfare, submarines and the F-35. This was announced during the visit to Australia by the Netherlands Chief of Defence, General Peter van Uhm. “Due, among other things, to the strategic po
One of the Navy’s amphibious ships HMAS Choules has suffered a defect which has caused her to return to Sydney. HMAS Choules departed Sydney on 13 June 2012 for Queensland where it was scheduled to support Exercise Hamel in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area. On 14 June 2012 a defect occurred on one o
Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and the leading manufacturer of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), announced that the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD) has purchased one REMUS 600 system for mine countermeasure operations. The new purchase brings the Japanese MOD AUV fleet to
