Australian has launched future HMAS Arafura, the lead ship of the Arafura class of offshore patrol vessels, at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.
Launched on December 16, Arafura is the first in a fleet of 12 OPVs being built for the Royal Australian Navy to replace the Armidale and Cape-class patrol boats.
“The Arafura class OPVs represent the future of Australia’s border protection and will be the primary asset for maritime patrol and response duties,” Australian defense minister Peter Dutton said.
“Our commitment to a secure, stable and prosperous region will be bolstered by the introduction of these vessels, with state of the art sensors and command and
communications systems.
The Arafura-class is a custom Australian variant of German shipbuilder Luerssen’s PV80 design and is 80 meters in length with a displacement of around 1,700 tons. The OPV design will support specialist mission packages, such as a maritime tactical unmanned aerial systems, and into the future, rapid environmental assessment and deployable mine counter measure capabilities. The ships will field a 40 mm gun and will be capable of deploying three boats.
Six of the vessels will be based at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin, four at HMAS Cairns in north Queensland and two at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.
Defense industry minister Melissa Price said the launch of the first Arafura-class OPV was a significant milestone in the government’s Naval Shipbuilding Plan.
“We are committed to a sovereign continuous naval shipbuilding program and I
congratulate Australian industry and the workforce involved in building NUSHIP Arafura,” minister Price said.
“Australian industry is building all 12 vessels here in Australia and will continue to sustain them over their lifecycle, delivering long-term local jobs.”
The first two OPVs are being constructed by Luerssen Australia at Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia, setting the foundation for continuous shipbuilding before the Hunter-class frigate program progresses through prototyping to construction.
The 10 remaining OPVs will be built by Luerssen Australia at the Henderson Maritime Precinct in Western Australia.
