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 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
The Royal New Zealand Navy recently opened an Anzac combat system trainer following the first major milestone of the New Zealand Anzac frigate system upgrade project. Chief of Navy Rear Admiral John Martin opened the combat system trainer at the Maritime Warfare Training Centre at the Royal New Zeal
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
Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac-class frigate HMAS Stuart is set to complete her anti-ship missile defense upgrade this week, marking the completion of an Australian Navy capability upgrade program that spanned seven years. Completion of works on HMAS Stuart was announced by contractor BAE Systems who
Australian shipbuilder Austal opened a new shipbuilding facility that will be used for the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) programme. Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne MP officially opened the facility at Naval Base, West Australia in a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 8.
Two Royal Canadian Navy ships departed Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt on March 6 to start the Poseidon Cutlass deployment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. During their near six-month deployment, Her Majesty’s Canadian (HMC) Ships Winnipeg and Ottawa will take part in exercises with regional partner
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission Pacific Partnership 2017 made its initial mission stop in Hambantota, Sri Lanka on March 7 with the arrival of the United States Navy’s expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF-4). This is also the first mission to Sri
Australia’s first air warfare destroyer NUSHIP Hobart returned to Adelaide after completing its sea acceptance trials off the coast of South Australia. Hobart spent the past five weeks demonstrating its on-board weapons capabilities, including 21 days at sea, where it conducted 20 platform system te
The Royal Australian Navy’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Unit (UASU) showcased the navy’s newly acquired Schiebel Camcopter S-100 vertical take-off UAV at the Avalon airshow that concluded on March 5. The UASU is tasked with trialing and testing two different unmanned aircraft types – the ScanEagle (fi
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta recently seized over 800 kilos from a dhow in the Middle East, on March 2. Arunta was patrolling in the Arabian Sea and her specialist boarding team located the drugs hidden in a consignment of coffee. The drugs have an estimated street value of approximatel
