Australian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

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Jeff Head

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noticed China challenged Australian warships in South China Sea-Australian media
Updated 7 hours ago
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So, two Anzac upgraded FFGs (which with the ASMD, CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT upgrades are very powerful), and a replenishment ship.

Those are strong frigates and would be (IMHO) more than a match for a Type 054...but a Type 052D woud be a strong threat to them.
 
here it is ...:
I think the big hurdle for Navantia is that existing F-100 design apparently has very little in the way of quieting for ASW work, ...
recalled now while watching the part after 00:50 of the recent vid
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Jun 23, 2017
May 29, 2017
and
LHD Canberra pod trial results clear as investigation continues
23 Jun 2017
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who would post if not me (LOL)
LHD pod problems still ongoing
04 May 2018
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One of the Royal Australian Navy's Landing Helicopter Docks' (LHDs) azimuth propulsion pods has faced more issues this year, following months in dry dock last year.

A member of Defence confirmed to the joint standing committee for foreign affairs, defence and trade that in March this year, the pods on one of the amphibious assault ships suffered from leakage.

"We have had an issue this year in March where we had a small amount of leakage because one of the seals was leaking," a Defence spokesperson told the committee.

The vessel was undocked today and the seal will be replaced, the spokesperson said.

Confirmation of the leakage comes after both HMA Ships Adelaide and Canberra were in dry dock from March 2017 until June 2017 due to
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.

The docking and inspection of Adelaide in 2017 identified wear in some bearings in the port pod, which was assessed to be the likely cause of the oil contamination.

Defence Department Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) deputy secretary Kim Gillis told the Parliament’s joint committee of public accounts and audit last month that 45 per cent of the slippage of the LHDs related to fixing, and potentially recovering costs, of the propulsion pods for the LHDs, the Canberra and the Adelaide.

"We are in commercial negotiations so we have remediated the pods... we are in commercial negotiations with the companies and manufacturers, so you have an asset which is now operational, but we haven’t defined it as full operational capability until we actually (have) completed these commercial negotiations," Gillis said.

"This is something we are driving industry to make sure they have fully remediated and if there is an appropriate cost recovery … we are in commercial negotiations with those companies as we speak."

Last year, Defence confirmed the indicative costs of the unscheduled propulsion system investigations, repairs and servicing came to a combined total of $16.5 million for HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Canberra.

"The ability and extent to which the Commonwealth can access warranty and/or latent defect provisions is dependent on ongoing technical investigations and negotiations with industry," Defence said.

Negotiations with industry over the costs have been ongoing for some time, with Rear Admiral Adam Grunsell, AM, CSC,
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last year that Defence intends to recover some of the costs from industry.

The LHDs, which cost about $1 billion each, were designed and built by Spanish company Navantia with help from BAE Systems and German company Siemens.

Outgoing Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett told Senate estimates in October 2017 that Defence has "taken a cautious approach since" and the vessels will continue to be monitored over a period of time as they look at other issues during test and evaluation.

"There are other issues that we would seek to look through with the ship during this test and evaluation period to confirm that we have resolved all the issues we need to – noting that this is two years into a 30-year life," VADM Barrett said.

The Chief of Navy last year quashed rumours that Australia's operational intensity of the vessels is unsuitable for the ships, but added they are looking at its operations to ensure Defence's initial judgement on design and sustainment are suitable.

"We're looking at how that ship is operated and how we operate, to make sure that our initial judgements on design intent and sustainment practice are contemporary and appropriate to the way that we operate," VADM Barrett said.

"There's been no indication from the ship designer, in Navantia, as to how we're operating the ship. We do drive the ship differently from the Spanish Navy, from the armada, and, again, we are looking at that, but we are not – and it has not been indicated by the original equipment manufacturers that we are – operating outside the limits of what the equipment was designed to do.

"My biggest issue will be making sure we only use them at sea equivalent to the number of sea days that I'm funded to be able to provide them – and that is part of the sustainment issue. That is, if I've only got spares and maintenance to run them for a certain number of days a year and I'm asked to operate them beyond that, then I start ageing the platform far more quickly than we had intended and it wouldn't last 30 years."

The 27,000-tonne amphibious assault ships were commissioned on 28 November 2014 (Canberra) and 4 December 2015 (Adelaide).

The ships are able to land a force of over 1,000 personnel by helicopter and water craft.
 
now noticed (dated 10 May 2018) Australian defence budget on track to meet 2% GDP target
Australia’s defence spending for fiscal year (FY) 2018/19 will rise by AUD1.2 billion (USD900 million) or 1.4% to AUD36.4 billion, the government announced in its annual budget statement on 8 May.

Expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will reach 1.9%: broadly in line with the government’s target of defence funding reaching 2% of GDP in FY 2020/21.

Funding over the forward estimates – the three years beyond the new budget – will total AUD160.7 billion, with the 2020/21 estimate set at AUD41.2 billion.

In a joint statement Defence Minister Marise Payne and Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne said that the budget continues to deliver on the long-term plans set out in the 2016 Defence White Paper to secure Australia’s interests in the coming decades, despite growing global uncertainty and complexity.

...
... and the rest is behind paywall at Jane's:
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there're some doubts inside Nov 25, 2017
Yesterday at 9:49 PM

... and here's more:
Surprise Sea 1180 OPV tender prompts further questions

24 November 2017
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and now
Austal will not take part in Australian OPV construction after all
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Australian shipbuilder Austal will not be taking part in the construction of 12 offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Australian Navy, according to a May 11 statement from Luerssen – the prime contractor on the project.

The announcement follows months of negotiations between the two sides.

In November 2017 the Australian government selected Luerssen as the prime contractor on the project and asked it to explore options “to leverage the wider shipbuilding experience base at Henderson in Western Australia”, potentially opening an option for Austal to participate in the Western Auastralia build program, subject to commercial negotiations.

On Friday, Luerssen announced negotiations between Austal, which have been underway since December 2017, have not been able to reach a viable commercial agreement.

Australian defense industry minister Christopher Pyne said Luerssen will build the OPVs in collaboration with ASC and Civmec’s Forgacs, the two companies it had originally partnered with.

“The Turnbull government’s commitment to construct 10 OPVs at Henderson, as part of the continuous shipbuilding program for minor war vessels in WA, remains unwavering,” said minister Pyne.

Civmec will soon list on the Australian stock market and will have a key role as a shipbuilder in WA. It’s estimated the project will directly employ up to 1000 Australian workers – 400 direct and a further 600 in the supply chain, minister Pyne further said in the statement.

The first two vessels will be built in South Australia at the Osborne Naval Shipyard starting this year and the other 10 will be constructed in Western Australia from 2020.

In addition to ASC and Civmec, Luerssen has entered into agreements with Saab and L3 for the delivery of situational awareness systems, an electro-optical fire control director, and integrated communications, bridge, navigation and platform management systems.
 
to the complete disinterest of this thread Audit: Australian multi-billion shipbuilding plan carries extreme risk
Australian government’s $89 billion program to develop new ships and submarines carries a high to extreme level of risk, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warned in its recent audit.

The shipbuilding program for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) encompasses new submarines, major surface combatants and Offshore Patrol Vessels. The program seeks to generate economic growth and sustain Australian jobs.

The design and build milestones for the Offshore Patrol Vessel were brought forward to help maintain the shipbuilding workforce from the end of the Hobart Class Destroyer build to commencement of the Future Frigate build. As a consequence of the compressed schedule, Defence has carried several risks into the OPV acquisition.

As explained, the exact costs of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) new OPV were not presented to the government at second gate approval. In addition, commercial arrangements between the selected shipbuilder and Australian shipbuilding firms had not been settled when the tender outcome was announced.

“Over time, Defence has advised the Government of the high to extreme risks the shipbuilding programs present. Certain risks are now being realised, including the progress of the Offshore Patrol Vessel through second gate approval without detailed sustainment costs and finalised commercial arrangements,” the audit says.

The ANAO said that Defence is currently meeting scheduled milestones to deliver the abovementioned construction program, although each program is still at an early stage.

However, the audit identified issues that could occur in the future:

“Key risks relate to the delivery of expected capability, program cost, ability to meet program schedules, and management of the industrial base. The Naval Shipbuilding Plan did not address the management of these risks in any detail.”

In case these risks are not managed appropriately, this could lead to the extension of service of the Armidale and ANZAC class ships, and the Collins Class submarines, and the associated costs and effects on naval capability, according to the audit.

What is more, the audit also mentioned the accelerated schedule to enable a 2020 construction start of the Future Frigate program.

The audit warns that “schedule compression presented such extreme risk that cost and schedule overrun was likely” and that proceeding with the current schedule “had the potential for severe reputational damage to Defence and the Government.”
source is NavalToday
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to the complete disinterest of this thread ...
... AWD Alliance to launch Australia’s third and final Hobart-class destroyer
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AWD Alliance, the alliance in charge of delivering Royal Australian Navy ‘s air warfare destroyers, is set to launch the third and final destroyer in the class in a ceremony on Saturday, May 19.

NUSHIP Sydney, as the ship is to be named, will be launched at ASC’s Adelaide shipyard.

Sydney is entering the water two and a half years after construction on the ship officially started with a keel-laying ceremony in December 2015.

The launching ceremony starts at approximately 9.45am (ACST) and will be live streamed, according to AWD Alliance.

You can watch the launch
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.

NUSHIP Sydney will be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy sometime in 2019, following further oufitting and sea trials.

The lead ship in the class, HMAS Hobart, has already
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. The second ship, future HMAS Brisbane, started sea trials in November 2017 and will be delivered to the navy mid-2018.

Hobart-class destroyers are built under an AU$9 billion program with ASC as primary shipbuilder and Spanish Navantia as the designer.

The ships are over 140 metres long, have a top speed of more than 28 knots, a range of about 5000 nautical miles and room for more than 200 crew members.

Based on Navantia’s F100 design, the air warfare destroyers are equipped with the Aegis weapon system incorporating the AN/ SPY 1D(V) phased array radar in combination with the SM-2 missile.

The ships will provide an air defense system capable of engaging enemy aircraft and missiles at ranges in excess of 150 kilometers.

HMAS Hobart and the yet to be commissioned Brisbane
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successfully demonstrated the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), a system which expands the ships’ battlespace awareness by sharing sensor data among a network of CEC-equipped ships and aircraft.

The AWDs will also carry a MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopter for surveillance and response to support key warfare areas. The surface warfare function will include long range anti-ship missiles and a naval gun capable of firing extended range munitions in support of land forces. The AWDs will also be able to conduct undersea warfare and will be equipped with sonar systems, decoys and surface-launched torpedoes.
 
Friday at 9:00 PM
... AWD Alliance to launch Australia’s third and final Hobart-class destroyer
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Ddia14kVAAE5maO.jpg

just one from the tweet
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's third
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Air Warfare
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,
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42, was launched Saturday morning in Adelaide. Built in Australia to Spanish
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design with the
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Martin
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combat system.
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