BAE Systems has beaten its Spanish and Italian competitors in a bid to build a fleet of nine frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the decision on Friday. Once in Royal Australian Navy service, the frigates will be referred to as the Hunter-
The US State Department has approved a potential sale of Aegis combat system equipment for the Royal Australian Navy’s new SEA5000 frigates. The approved $185 million sale would include equipment associated with the integration of the Australian CEAFAR 2 phased array radar system with the Lockheed M
The Australian government announced it is investing AU$1.4 billion in the acquisition of six MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The UAS will be acquired through a cooperative program with the US Navy. Australia is buying the UAS to complement the surveillance role of the P-8A Poseidon air
Type 23 frigate HMS Argyll became the third Royal Navy ship to deploy to Asia as she got underway from her Devonport Naval base on June 18. The frigate will be spending the next nine-months in Asia, sailing as far as Japan as part of a national push to strengthen military and diplomatic ties in [&he
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga is returning from a Middle East deployment which saw the crew seize over AU$2 billion of narcotics over the course of eight months. In total, the Australian warship intercepted 16 vessels carrying illicit narcotics, seizing a total of around 31.8 tonnes
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Anzac returned to her homeport at Fleet Base East on June 17, completing a three-month Southeast Asia deployment. Anzac deployed as part of a three ship task unit with HMA Ships Success and Toowoomba. Departing Fleet Base East in March, Anzac visited seven ports in
Australian branches of global defense contractors Raytheon and Thales will be in charge of the A$542 million project to upgrade the fleet of six Royal Australian Navy Collins-class submarines. According to an announcement from the Australian defense industry minister Christopher Pyne, the upgrades a
The Royal Australian Navy has deployed a laser airborne depth sounder (LADS) flight to deployment to Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, for hydrographic surveys in the Kavieng and Rabaul regions. The five week is carried out with the aim of providing improved data that will be used to update the existing nau
Royal Australian and New Zealand Naviy personnel took part in a week long exercise recently honing their skills in responding to piracy activities on commercial shipping surrounding fictitious countries in the Tasman Sea. Exercise Goanna 18 drew on lessons learnt from RAN and RNZN deployments in dom
Australia’s second air warfare destroyer ‘Brisbane’ recently completed her Category 5 (CAT 5) sea trials off the coast of Adelaide, the Royal Australian Navy has announced. The destroyer got underway for the trials in November 2017. The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance which is in charge of delivering
Australian shipbuilder Austal on May 30 announced that the first of overall 21 Pacific Patrol Boats was launched after officially starting construction in April 2017. The first vessel in the class is scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea in late October 2018. The boats are also known as the Gua
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Melbourne departed her home port of Fleet Base East bound to start a seven month deployment to the South West Pacific and North East Asia. Melbourne’s deployment will include participation in the second iteration of Indo-Pacific Endeavour, exercise Kakadu in Austra
German shipbuilder Luerssen – the prime contractor in the Australian SEA 1180 offshore patrol vessel program – has formed a joint venture with Australian engineering and defense contractor Civmec. The joint venture will be called the Australian Maritime Shipbuilding and Export Group and will play a
The Australian branch of the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Adelaide to develop a collaborative program of education and research co-operation. CETENA, a subsidiary company of Fincantieri, which undertakes research a
