General News

[Pelican]

BAE Systems to upgrade to Australian Navy frigate guns

BAE Systems was awarded a contract by the Commonwealth of Australia to upgrade existing Mk 45 Mod 2 naval gun systems on Anzac class frigates with a Common Control System (CCS).
The upgrade modifies existing Mk 45 systems to eliminate obsolescence issues and extend the life of the gun system.

“In addition to delivering commonality and interoperability with the U.S. Navy’s gun systems, the upgrade will equip the Mk 45s with the capability to integrate future extended-range precision guided munitions, such as the hypervelocity projectile.”

The CCS upgrade replaces electronics on earlier Mk 45 Mod 1 and Mod 2 gun systems to be compatible with the Mk 45 Mod 4, the latest configuration used by the U.S. Navy.

“The Common Control System upgrade is the most cost-effective way to extend the life of Mk 45 gun systems, enabling them to provide critical ship naval fires and creating a configuration that allows for the integration of future precision guided munitions” said Brent Butcher, vice president of weapon systems at BAE Systems.

“We are committed to modernising and equipping allied nations with enhanced Mk 45 gun systems to address current and future threats.”

Work on the contract will take place at the BAE Systems production facility in Louisville, Kentucky with the first delivery planned in early 2026.

Origin UKDJ

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout
Henderson shipyard in Western Australia to partner with Babcock plc to pitch Arrowhead-14 / Type 31 frigate to Australian Navy
Expected Type 26 / Hunter class frigate order may be scaled back slightly and supplemented with a simpler/cheaper design in an exact mirror of RN programmes.
See - https://archive.is/2GZW9

[Brian James]

South Brisbane Dry Dock pictured in 1964.....A heritage-listed Dry Dock situated at 412 Stanley Street, South Brisbane, City of Brisbane. It was designed by William David Nisbet and built from 1876 to 1887, it is also known as the Government Graving Dock. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on October 21st 1992. The South Brisbane Dry Dock is the third oldest in Australia, the others being the Fitzroy Dry Dock, Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney (1847–57) and the Alfred Graving Dock, Williamstown, Victoria (1864–73). The Dry Dock site is incorporated in the Queensland Maritime Museum which includes many moveable heritage items, such as River Class Frigate HMAS Diamantina which resides in the dock today.

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout
ADV Guidance alongside in Sydney. She is a recently acquired auxiliary operated on behalf of the Australian Navy as an Undersea Support Vessel.
Will be used for undersea surveillance systems trials, deploying UUVs and ROVs.

[Pelican]

Controversial British Hunter-class warship program survives as government prepares to unveil Australia's 'Future Navy'

In short: Britain's BAE Systems will get the go ahead to build at least six new Hunter-class warships — costing around $4.5 billion each — for the Royal Australian Navy.
The program has been beset by delays and design problems, amid claims British PM Rishi Sunak has personally lobbied for it to continue.
What's next? The government will next week unveil a "Future Navy" plan which emphasises "continuous naval shipbuilding".

See - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-12/ ... /103454004 - LFT

[Pelican]

Rear Admiral Jude Terry
Brilliant to attend a ceremony at the Royal Nav’s Nuclear Faculty at HMS Sultan today to celebrate those passing the Nuclear Reactor Course.
Made even more special with the first cohort of students.
An important step as part of our AUKUS agreement.

[Pelican]

Video at - https://twitter.com/i/status/1759853973240975536

[Pelican]

Type 26 Frigate purchase reduced by Australia

The Hunter-class frigate (a Type 26 variant) programme has been cut from nine ships to six.
Australia will now look at Six Hunter class frigates, 11 new general purpose frigates and six new Large Optionally Crewed Surface Vessels (LOSVs).

Here’s the announcement in full. ~~~ https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/type-26 ... australia/

[Pelican]

Australia wants navy boats with lots of weapons, but no crew. Will they run afoul of international law?

The Australian Navy is set to be transformed. On top of existing plans for nuclear submarines, the government yesterday announced a scheme for an “enhanced lethality surface combatant fleet” including six new “optionally crewed” vessels.

The advantages of these vessels, which can operate with or without a crew, are clear. They can operate for longer, with more stealth, and allow military personnel to avoid hostile environments.

Simple remote-controlled craft have been used since at least the 1920s, but increasingly sophisticated uncrewed vessels are becoming more common. Ukraine has used small uncrewed boats against Russian targets in the Black Sea, the United States plans to build a swarm of sea drones to protect Taiwan, and China is developing its own devices.

Continues at - https://theconversation.com/australia-w ... law-223980 - LFT

[Pelican]

Australia could get the world's most expensive anti-submarine warship, but the numbers are as complex as shipbuilding

On Tuesday, a sudden downpour at Sydney's Garden Island Naval base forced Defence Minister Richard Marles to hurriedly relocate inside HMAS Canberra for the long-awaited public release of Labor's Surface Combatant Review (SCR), commissioned 10 months ago.

The irony of launching a policy that would reshape the navy with a greater number of smaller but more lethal warships, while sheltering in a 27,000-tonne Landing Helicopter Dock, was not lost on others who had hastily gathered on board to hear the details.

In an era where large Russian warships have been sunk by Ukraine's innovative military, and Houthi rebels, using crudely assembled missiles and drones, are causing havoc for powerful navies in the Red Sea, commentators are questioning the viability of future surface fleets.

Continues at - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-22/ ... /103496444 - LFT