The Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, and Minister for Defence Materiel, Jason Clare, today announced that the amphibious ship HMAS Kanimbla would be decommissioned. In September 2010 the Chief of Navy imposed an operational pause on HMAS Kanimbla due to seaworthiness concerns. Since then, Defenc
Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced the delivery to Adelaide of the first keel block that will be used to construct HMAS Hobart – Australia’s first Air Warfare Destroyer. “This is an important step forward in the $8 billion project to construct three new warships,” Mr Clare sai
At Fleet Base West the Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence announced that the ex Royal Fleet Auxilliary Landing Ship Dock Largs Bay is to commission into the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Choules. Many of you will recall that former Chief Petty Officer Claude Choules passed away in May of th
At a ceremony held on board Austal’s next generation 102 metre trimaran this morning, Austal was awarded a contract for the design, construction and through-life support of eight new patrol boats for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. This contract is Austal’s second significant c
Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAT) 103 returned from Pacific Partnership 2011 Aug. 5 after a five-month deployment that took them to five Pacific countries. MCAT 103 facilitated, supported, and assessed civil-military operations while deployed aboard USS Cleveland (LPD 7) in Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua Ne
HMAS Stirling (Captain Brett Wolski) has hosted multiple regional visitors recently, with Malaysian Navy to Navy Talks and the Inaugural ASEAN Defence Ministerial Plus (ADMM-Plus) Maritime Security Experts’ Working Group Meeting both occurring in Western Australia in July. The Malaysian/Australian N
The forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) and embarked Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived in Brisbane, Australia for a port visit, Aug 3. There are several events scheduled while the ship is visiting Brisbane. The ship will play host to a bi
More than 70 military and civilian Australian Defence personnel recently joined their US counterparts aboard the Seventh Fleet Flagship USS Blue Ridge (CAPT Daniel Grieco, USN) for the 2011 running of Exercise Talisman Sabre (TS11). Navy, Army and Air Force personnel from all across the country came
The amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) and embarked U.S. 7th Fleet staff arrived in Cairns, Australia July 27 as part of the ship’s summer patrol to foster positive relations with regional partners. The crew and embarked staff will have an opportunity to enjoy an area of Australia known
The city of Townsville welcomed the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown (LSD 42) Sailors and embarked Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to the city during an official ceremony held at the Army Museum North Queensland July 8. Germantown is in Townsville, A
The fifth and final phase of Pacific Partnership 2011 (PP11) has come to an end with the departure of the PP11 team from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The flagship for the mission, USS Cleveland, arrived in the FSM on 3 July with representatives from the Australian, Canadian, Malaysian,
Sea Kings will be worked hard during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2011 (TS11) which will be the aircrafts last major exercise before they face retirement after a career of 35 years. The three 817 Squadron Sea Kings were flown overland from HMAS Albatross to the exercise area at Shoalwater Bay in seven an
The West Australian Navy community came together on the 13th July to pull a little bit of history from the ground at HMAS Stirling (Captain Brett Wolski). The 10 July milestone marked 100 years of service under the title of Royal Australian Navy. On 10 July 1911, His Majesty King George V granted th
Piracy in the Indian Ocean is hampering the efforts of climate change researchers to the point where they have had to call in the Australian… (markacadey) [mappress] Source: markacadey, July 15, 2011;
