General News

[Pelican]

"From top to bottom: HMAS Sydney (A 214), Melbourne (R 21), Supply (AO 195), and Yarra (DE 45). The photo looks to have been taken in the 1960s.

Two examples of Majestic class carriers, a subclass of the British 1942 Light Fleet Carrier design. Sydney was laid down in April 1943 as Terrible but completed as Sydney in December 1948. She is seen here in the role of fast troop transport.
Melbourne was laid down as Majestic in February 1945 and completed in February 1955 with a 5.5º angled deck and a steam catapult for operating jets.
The youngest ship in the picture is HMAS Supply which was commissioned in 1962, then Yara, commissioned in 1961 so the photo was taken after this time.

[Brian James]

HMAS Adelaide, USS America, JS Izumo and ROKS Marado, pictured during Exercise Talisman Sabre, July 29th 2023.

[Pelican]

Australian Navy considering reducing the number of Type 26/Hunter class frigates (9 originally planned).

Looking at cheaper light frigate/corvette options - Type 31/Arrowhead 140 is a frontrunner possibly built in a joint programme with New Zealand.
See - https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/au ... 809-p5dv81

[Pelican]

BAE offers Australia guided missile variant of Hunter-class frigate

The Australian Defence Strategic Review has called for a mix of Tier 1 and Tier 2 surface combatants amid speculation that the SEA 5000 Hunter-class frigate project would be cut back to pay for a potential new class of corvette – but BAE has returned fire with a new offering that could change Australian decision-making.

BAE offers Australia guided missile variant of Hunter-class frigate BAE offers Australia guided missile variant of Hunter-class frigate

At the Indo-Pacific Maritime exhibition in Sydney on 7 October, BAE Systems outlined its proposal for a new guided missile variant of its Hunter-class frigate that would include a total of some 96 vertical launch cells and an additional 16 Naval Strike Missile launchers.

Speaking to reporters at the exhibition, Ben Hudson, CEO of BAE Systems Australia, said that a new strike module would contain 64 cells with vertical launch tubes that would add to the ship’s existing 32 VLS cell.

See - https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/nava ... s-frigate/ - LFT

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout

Australian Navy says divers from HMAS Toowoomba in the water injured by Chinese warship using active sonar during an encounter off Japan earlier this week.
Australians issued warning - a deliberate act of provocation by Chinese or crew incompetence?

See - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-18/ ... /103121900

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout

Australian Navy says divers from HMAS Toowoomba in the water injured by Chinese warship using active sonar during an encounter off Japan earlier this week.
Australians issued warning - a deliberate act of provocation by Chinese or crew incompetence?

See - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-18/ ... /103121900

Some background to the above:

Royal Australian Navy sets sail for regional presence deployment
https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/ ... deployment

[Brian James]

HMAS Stalwart performs VERTREP and RAS procedures with HMAS Brisbane during ANNUALEX 2023, Philippine Sea.

[Brian James]

Cockatoo Island Dockyard pictured in 1951.

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout

In a landmark decision, the US Congress has passed the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) allowing the sale of Virginia class submarines to Australia and the sharing of other sensitive defence technology with the #AUKUS nations.

See - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... -australia

[Brian James]

HMAS Brisbane returns to her home port of Fleet Base East, Sydney on December 15th 2023, following the completion of a successful deployment.