Construction has begun officially on the first Hunter-class Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) frigate, marking another significant step in delivering the RAN’s enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet. The piece of steel cut during the commencement ceremony forms part of the under-structure support for…
The Royal Australian Navy’s six Collins-class submarines will now not be armed with the Tomahawk strike weapon, and will also forego their planned optronics upgrade. The Government’s decisions on the life-of-type extension program have been informed by advice from Defence…
Adelaide-based Babcock Australasia and Perth-based Franmarine will deliver critical underwater sustainment and biofouling management services for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) under a new $10m contract. Since 2018, the two companies have delivered biofouling management capability to the RAN to…
Three Royal Australian Navy officers will be assigned to US Virginia class submarines based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii after graduating from their submarine training in Groton, Connecticut. Lieutenant Commander James Heydon, Lieutenant Commander Adam Klyne and Lieutenant William Hall…
The Australian Department of Defence has unveiled its first Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vessel (XL-AUV), ahead of schedule and on budget. Ghost Shark will provide the Royal Australian Navy with a stealthy, long-range autonomous undersea warfare capability that can…
The announcement that the RAN’s fleet of surface combatants would more than double is welcome; even more so is the news that the Australian defence budget will be increased to pay for them. It is gratifying that EX2 managed to…
The Royal Australian Navy will more than double the size of its surface combatant feet under plans released by the Australian government. The expanded fleet of more than 26 ships will also be more lethal than the RAN’s current fleet…
The Australian Government’s blueprint for the RAN’s expanded, more lethal surface combatant fleet is intended to support a sovereign continuous naval shipbuilding program and deliver direct investment in a capable, resilient and competitive defence industrial base, Defence says. An updated…
The partners in the tripartite AUKUS agreement – the USA, UK and Australia – have announced that the first maintenance to be carried out in Australia on a US Navy nuclear-powered submarine will be undertaken in the second half of…
The Royal Australian Navy will purchase new, smart sea mines to reinvigorate Defence’s maritime mining capability. The new mines will be supplied by Italian firm RWM Italia, a subsidiary of German firm Rheinmetall AG, and will be deployable from submarines,…