Royal Australian Navy’s oldest warship HMAS Darwin departed Fleet Base West after what will probably be the frigate’s final visit before being decommissioned later this year. HMAS Darwin slipped from the wharf at Fleet Base West and set sail for Sydney recently, signalling the end of the warship’s l
The Australian government on Friday released the Request for Tender (RFT) for the Royal Australian Navy’s $35 billion Future Frigate project. The RFT was issued to the three shortlisted designers: British BAE Systems, Italy’s Fincantieri and Spain’s Navantia. Minister for Defence Industry, Christoph
South Australian Minister for Defence Industries Martin Hamilton-Smith has warned the Australian government about naval shipbuilding jobs and investment being at risk if the Federal Government does not deliver the promised 90 per cent level of local industry content. According to the minister, conce
The recent visit of the U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles class attack submarine, USS Oklahoma, to the Australian Fleet Base West coincided with the Australian Navy’s biennial Submarine Command Course. Seven prospective undersea commanding officers from the United States Navy joined their Australian colleague
The Australian government is establishing a maritime technical college to identify, train or retrain workers for the country’s $89 billion shipbuilding program, Australian Minister for Defense industry announced on Friday. Minister Christopher Pyne said an initial $25 million would be invested into
The first of class flight trials that Royal Australian Navy’s landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra conducted demanded engagement of Army test pilots, Navy flight test engineers and Air Force technicians, all working on the task. Canberra’s Commander Air, Commander Adrian Capner said that military a
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has picked MAN to provide main and GenSet engines to power the two new fleet support tankers that are to be built for the Royal Australian Navy. According to MAN, each vessel will feature two 18V 32/40 main engines and four 7L21/31 GenSets with shipset deliveries schedul
Australian shipbuilders ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs Marine and Defence have teamed up to jointly bid for the construction of 12 offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Australian Navy. The two companies are cooperating under a Memorandum of Understanding announced on March 20 by Civmec, a parent comp
Royal Australian Navy’s sail training ship Young Endeavour completed a ten-month circumnavigation of Australia returning to Sydney on March 10. Head Reserve and Youth Division, Rear Admiral Bruce Kafer, congratulated the Navy personnel and the 24 young Australians who sailed her back into her homepo
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Parramatta rescued three South African sailors from a yacht which lost its mast in rough sea approximately 1,300 kilometres southwest of Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia. The three yachtsmen of a 13-metre yacht activated an emergency response beacon late on March
Australia’s minister for defence industry visited a Spanish Navy frigate downselected for the Future Frigate programme on Friday to inspect the capabilities of the ship. Minister Christopher Pyne went aboard the F-100 frigate ESPS Cristobal Colon for a tour of the ship and an update on the progress
Having wrapped up her participation in the Australian Navy exercise Ocean Explorer on March 5, Italian Navy FREMM frigate ITS Carabiniere headed for Jakarta, Indonesia as part of her deployment to the Asia-Pacific region. The Carlo Bergamini-class frigate arrived in Jakarta on March 9 and hosted the
Royal Australian Navy’s fleet replenishment tanker HMAS Sirius is preparing to return to the fleet following a four-month maintenance period at Captain Graving Dock, Garden Island. The ship recently sailed out of Sydney Harbour and into the Pacific Ocean for sea trials. She will return to Sydney bri
U.S. Navy’s Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723) visited Australia’s largest navy base HMAS Stirling on March 7. Oklahoma City visited the Fleet Base West, Western Australia, during its regular Indo-Asia-Pacific deployment. With a crew of approximately 150, the submarine wi
