Australian Defence Force News

Damen Shipyards Group has announced the selection of its Landing Ship Transport (LST) 100 design by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). According to the navy, up to 35 LST100 vessels will be constructed at shipyards in the United States for the Medium Landing Ship programme (LSM). This US Navy initiative aims to enhance capability to transport and land Marine Corps units in contested environments.Proven standard platformNAVSEA released the RFI (Request for Information) to the industry at the beginning of 2025.

The Australian Government is accelerating the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with the selection of the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general purpose frigates.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).The upgraded Mogami-class frigate boasts a range of up to 10…

Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said on Sunday, responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan.Australia prioritises its sovereignty and "we don't discuss hypotheticals", Conroy said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation."The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day…

The sale of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under the AUKUS treaty faces new doubts as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs take hold, and amid concern in Washington that providing the subs to Canberra may reduce deterrence to China.Whether the United States can boost submarine production to meet U.S. Navy targets is key to whether Australia can buy three Virginia-class submarines starting in 2032, Defence Minister Richard Marles said last month, after talks with his U.S.

Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island will be connected by subsea cable to the northern garrison city of Darwin, a project backed by Alphabet's Google that Australia says will boost its digital resilience.Christmas Island is 1,500 km (930 miles) west of the Australian mainland, with a small population of 1,250, but strategically located in the Indian Ocean, 350 km (215 miles) from Jakarta.The cable announcement comes as the Australian and U.S. militaries upgrade airfields in Australia's north, where a rotating force of U.S.

BMT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DNV that will accelerate BMT’s development of an Australian version of our CAIMEN® Large Design for the future Landing Craft – Heavy (LC-H) program for the Australian Army.Under this MoU, DNV will work with BMT throughout the process of tailoring the CAIMEN Large, to meet the Australian Army’s future requirements. DNV’s insights will ensure that BMT are able to identify and manage technical risk, minimizing schedule impacts…

Raytheon Australia, BMT and Austal Australia are working together in a bid to deliver the new Australian Independent Littoral Maneuver Vessel, or ILMV, for the Australian Army.If selected to deliver the Army’s LAND 8710-1A program, Raytheon Australia will lead the team to deliver the BMT-designed vessel, which will be built by Austal at the Henderson shipyard in Western Australia. Thee Australian ILMV is based on a proven design and tailored for the Australian environment, the Australian ILMV.BMT Senior Business Development Manager…

Naval Ship Management (NSM), an existing joint venture between Babcock and UGL, has been awarded the support and sustainment program for two Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs) at the Garden Island Defence Precinct in NSW, following a competitive bidding process.The announcement made today by the Australian Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, confirmed NSM was selected by the Australian Defence Force to sustain and support two LHDs and twelve LHD Landing Crafts (LLCs) for a period of 15 years.

Deal covers nine anti-submarine warfare ships; BAE beat Italy's Fincantieri and Spain's Navantia. Britain's BAE Systems PLC has won a A$35 billion ($25.7 billion) contest to deliver anti-submarine warfare frigates for the Australian navy, the Australian government said on Thursday. The nine ships, to be designed by BAE and built by government-owned ASC Shipbuilding in Australia are expected to underpin the country's maritime combat capability for decades to come, the Australian government said in a statement. "The Hunter class will provide the Australian Defence Force with the highest levels of lethality and deterrence our major surface combatants need in periods of global uncertainty," it said of the ships. Australia is a steadfast U.S.

Australian and New Zealand joint forces have seized 915 kilograms of heroin, valued in excess of $274 million, in a counter-narcotics operation in the Western Indian Ocean. HMAS Warramunga’s crew has conducted one of the largest drug seizures in Operation MANITOU’s history as part of the Australian-led Combined Task Force 150. In a joint counter-narcotics operation, the Royal Australian Navy and the New Zealand Defence Force seized 915 kilograms of heroin valued in excess of AUD$274 million. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 aircraft detected a suspicious vessel in the Western Indian Ocean on 23 January 2018, which was boarded and investigated by the crew in Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga on 24 January.

The much awaited announcement for the replacement to the current Armidale Class patrol boats was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at Russell Offices in Canberra. Lürssen was named as the prime contractor for the 12 new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) with the Australian PV80 variant. It will be 80 metres in length with a displacement of 1700 tonnes and a draught of 4 metres. The vessels will be fitted with a 40mm gun for self-protection, three 8.4m sea boats, state of the art sensors as well as command and communication systems. This will allow the OPVs to operate alongside Australian Border Force vessels, other Australian Defence Force units and our regional partners.

Exercise LUMBAS is an annual bi-lateral exercise between the Australia and the Philippines, and is being undertaken concurrently to the Royal Australian Navy’s visit to the region. The long standing and close working relationship between Australia and the Philippines was reinforced with amphibious giant, HMAS Adelaide hosting a visit and capability briefing to participants. Royal Australian Navy, Philippine Navy and other Philippine Government Agencies aim to develop and enhance procedures for the conduct of maritime support operations and maritime interdiction operation throughout the Philippines as a result. HMA Ships Adelaide and Darwin were in the Philippines as part of a joint task group deployment to the region focussed on international engagement.

The recent visit to the Philippines, by two Australian Navy ships of the Indo-Pacific Task Group has significantly reinforced the strong defence relationship between Australia and the archipelago. Led by HMAS Adelaide in company with HMAS Darwin, both ships were welcomed to the Port of Manila by the Philippines Navy for a full day of engagements including the visit by the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Australian Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin. The Task Group later sailed to Subic Bay for a four-day visit, where both ships received over several hundred visitors eager to view the new capabilities the Australian Defence Force had on offer.

HMAS Darwin and her younger sister HMAS Melbourne have shared their last moments together, showing the rest of the Navy that the guided missile frigates are still an impressive capability. The Adelaide class frigates have deployed concurrently with a number of other Australian Navy ships to the Asian region, however, Darwin’s program will see her decommission before Melbourne returns home from the deployment in December. Seizing the opportunity, Commanding Officer Darwin, Commander Phillip Henry, invited Melbourne, led by Commander Charles Bourne, to join them for some challenging Navy manoeuvres. The ships conducted close quarters manoeuvring before sailing together side-by-side at 24 knots. Despite her age, the 33-year-old Darwin easily kept up with her 25-year-old sister.

The Australian Defence Force Gap Year – Navy is an opportunity for young Australians to experience military training, service and lifestyle through a year-long program, with no further obligations on the participant to continue to serve. The program allows people to experience Navy life as a ‘try before you buy’ scheme during which every opportunity is given to participants to apply for transfer to Permanent Navy workforce categories, subject to sustainability and vacancies. The program targets individuals aged between 17 and 24 years of age who have completed their Year 12 (or equivalent) education. For the sea training component this year, 25 participants were given an opportunity to join amphibious assault ship, HMAS Adelaide leading a Task Group for a deployment throughout Asia.

The Australian Defence Force Joint Task Group, Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017, has completed the first international engagement activity of the deployment. HMAS Adelaide, one of the Royal Australian Navy’s Canberra class amphibious ships, reached the milestone after recently conducting aviation training with the USS Bonhomme Richard off the east coast of Australia. The training involved both the SH60S Seahawk helicopter and a United States Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, with a focus on flight deck familiarisation for the United States Marine Corps aircrew and currency training for Adelaide’s aviation support sailors. Commander of the Joint Task Group…

A group of warships departed Sydney on 4 September to participate in a series of key military exercises throughout the Indo-Pacific region – grouped as Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2017. Running from 4 September to 26 November, Indo-Pacific Endeavour will focus on enhancing military cooperation with some of Australia’s key regional partners including Brunei, Cambodia, the Federated States of Micronesia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. More than 1,200 Australian Defence Force personnel will participate, which is being led by Canberra class amphibious ship HMAS Adelaide.

Training to ‘fight and win at sea’ occurs across the Navy every day of the year, but how does that concept map to the hydrographic fleet and their motto ‘diligence and skill’? – step into the world of the Navy’s survey motor launches. HMAS Mermaid, one of four Paluma class vessels, recently completed an intensive five and a half week training program in North Queensland waters in company with her sister ship HMAS Paluma. The ship and her 15-person crew were put through their paces by Navy’s in-house training and assessment team – Minor War Vessel Sea Training Group.

Australia's largest military exercise, Talisman Saber, was officially opened on 29 June aboard the United States Landing Helicopter Dock Bonhomme Richard off the Sydney coast. Minister for Urban Development, the Honourable Paul Fletcher MP, representing the Minister for Defence, and the US Charge d'Affaires, Mr James Carouso, officially announced the start of the combined military exercise taking place thorought July. Field training will occur in Shoalwater Bay Training Area, near Rockhampton and Mount Bundy Training Area, south of Darwin. The Minister was joined by the US Pacific Forces Commander, Admiral Harry Harris, Jr and Officer Conducting the Exercise, Australia's Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral David Johnston along with other senior Australian Defence Force leaders.

Australia’s new multirole aviation training vessel MV Sycamore has recently arrived in Sydney. Designed to support Defence helicopter training, having been launched in Vietnam in August 2016, built by Skelder and overseen by Serco Defence, the 94-metre ship is a flight deck equipped sea-going training vessel for the crews of most types of helicopters used by the Australian Defence Force. Captain Al Whittaker said building of the Damen-designed steel ship began in 2015. “Sycamore has completed its harbour acceptance testing, systems factory acceptance testing and the shipyard acceptance tests,” he said. The ship arrived in Sydney on June 26, where her flag state was changed to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s red ensign.

Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta is returning home to Australia after completing the longest Middle Eastern deployment by a Navy vessel since 1990. Arunta concluded its assignment to Joint Task Force 633 as part of Operation MANITOU and handed over responsibility to HMAS Newcastle after completing a nine-month deployment conducting counter terrorism and maritime security operations. The ship made three significant intercepts during the deployment netting more than 1310 kilograms of illegal narcotics. Commanding Officer HMAS Arunta, Commander Cameron Steil, said he was proud of his crew’s achievements and looked forward to returning them all home to their families in the coming weeks.

The Royal Australian and United States navies have proven a potent and agile force when operating together during the opening phases of Exercise TALISMAN SABER 17, which took place in the Northern Territory. HMA Ships Ballarat, Melbourne, Broome and Bathurst conducted four days of high-end warfare exercises with USS John S. McCain off the coast of Darwin, proving their ability to detect, track and engage surface, submarine, and air targets. Advanced air warfare serials were supported by the Royal Australian Air Force’s Classic and Super Hornets and the US Marine Corps’ F/A-18s. The warships conducted a wide range of training exercises including Officer of the Watch Manoeuvres…

Australia’s amphibious capability was put to the test recently as the Amphibious Task Group Headquarters took charge of the largest amphibious assault conducted by an Australian force for 70 years as part of Exercise TALISMAN SABER. The assault, led from amphibious sssault ship HMAS Canberra, was a significant milestone in the Australian Defence Force’s development of a high end amphibious warfare capability. The Australian and New Zealand Amphibious Ready Group, consisting of HMA Ships Canberra and Choules and the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Canterbury, landed 600 embarked personnel, predominantly consisting of the Australian Army's 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, as part of a flanking force for the US Marine Corps’ 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.