[JLRC]

Australia - SM-2 Block IIIA Standard Missiles  
 
 
(Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued May 31, 2005)
 
 
 On 31 May 2005, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia of up to 175 SM-2 Block IIIA Standard missiles as well as associated equipment and services.  
 
The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $315 million.  
 
The Government of Australia has requested a possible sale of up to 175 SM-2 Block IIIA Standard missiles, up to 30 Telemetry missiles, up to 2 SM-2 Block IIIA Inert Operational missiles, canisters, containers, spare and repair parts, supply support, personnel training and training equipment; publications and technical data, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $315 million.  
 
Australia is an important ally in the Western Pacific. The strategic location of this political and economic power significantly contributes to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in modernizing its surface combatant fleet so as to maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability and contribute to an acceptable military balance in the area.  
 
This procurement also aids in maintaining the U.S. Navy (USN) production base and will improve interoperability between RAN and USN forces. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives, and facilitates burden sharing with our allies.  
 
The proposed sale will provide Australia continued anti-aircraft defense capabilities for its Navy. The RAN intends to use the SM-2 missiles on its destroyer class surface ships for self-defense against air and cruise missile threats. Australia, which already has SM-1 Standard missiles in its inventory, will have no difficulty absorbing these SM-2 Standard missiles.  
 
The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not affect the basic military balance in the region.  
 
The principal contractors will be: Raytheon Systems Company of Tucson, Arizona and General Dynamics, Scottsdale, Arizona. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.  
 
Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Australia.  
 
There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.  
 
This notice of a potential sale is required by law; it does not mean that the sale has been concluded.  
 
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[JLRC]

First Armidale Class Patrol Boat Commissioned in Darwin
 
 
(Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Jun 23, 2005)
 
 
 The first of Navy’s Armidale Class Patrol Boats that will be used to protect Australia’s northern coastline was commissioned in a centuries-old traditional ceremony in Darwin today.  
 
Defence Minister Robert Hill attended the commissioning of HMAS Armidale - the first of 12 Armidale Class Patrol Boats designed and built in Australia.  
 
Senator Hill said the aluminum vessels are bigger, faster and more capable than the aging Fremantle Class Patrol Boats and will operate out of Cairns and Darwin armed with the Rafael 25mm Typhoon stabilised cannon and equipped with state of the art communications systems.  
 
The new boats will be able to operate in a greater range of sea conditions and will improve Navy’s capability to intercept and apprehend vessels suspected of illegal fisheries, quarantine, customs or immigration offences.  
 
"This Project is demonstrating the ability of Australian industry to design, construct and deliver an important fleet of ships for the Navy on time, on budget and with excellent capability," Senator Hill said.  
 
Defence contracted Defence Maritime Services (DMS) to deliver the ships as well as provide integrated maintenance, logistic and crew-training support to the vessels throughout their operational lives. DMS subcontracted Austal Ships to build the vessels at its Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.  
 
"The Armidale Class have more modern systems and will be able to operate for longer at sea than the current Fremantle Class Patrol Boats and, have a longer range of some 3,000 nautical miles than the Fremantle Class.  
 
"The new patrol boats will be multi-crewed resulting in benefits from an overall higher usage of the boats and a more coherent training and respite regime for Navy personnel."  
 
The 24 ships company, led by their Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Andrew Maher, RAN, marched onto the ship and hoisted the Australian White Ensign and the Australian National Flag for the first time.  
 
Attending the event was the ship’s Commissioning Lady, Ms Janice Stone, eldest daughter of Ordinary Seaman Donald Raymond Lawson who served on the original HMAS ‘Armidale’, a Bathurst class corvette, during World War II.  
 
Also in attendance was Northern Territory Administrator, Mr Ted Egan, Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Chris Ritchie and Acting Maritime Commander, Commodore Peter Lockwood.  
 
The Armidale Class Patrol Boats will be multi-crewed (more crews than boats) using a squadron concept (where a number of crews rotate across a smaller number of boats) resulting in benefits from overall higher usage of the boats and a more coherent training and respite regime for Navy personnel.  
 
The Armidale Class Patrol Boats also have greater cabin and recreation space that will allow crew to perform at their optimum while at sea.

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[JLRC]

Dampier to be New Patrol Boat Port
 
 
(Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued July 5, 2005)
 
 
 Western Australia's coastal port of Dampier has been selected as the preferred port for two additional Armidale Class Patrol Boats to operate from as part of the Government's Securing the North West Shelf policy.  
 
Defence Minister Robert Hill visited Dampier today for the announcement and said Dampier was chosen based on Navy's operational requirements and the fact it will optimise the maritime surveillance and response capabilities in this strategically vital area of Australia.  
 
"The two additional ships will be forward based in Dampier," Senator Hill said. "This is delivering on the Howard Government's election commitment to buy two additional Armidale Class Patrol Boats to provide dedicated surveillance and monitoring of the North West Shelf.  
 
"The patrol boats will provide an enhanced quick reaction capability to respond to potential threats, including terrorist attack, and will add to the Navy's overall border protection capabilities.  
 
"The patrol boat crews will fly into and out of Dampier to maintain patrol cycles on a rotational basis. Whilst major maintenance requirements will be carried out in Darwin, some maintenance will be conducted in Dampier. The families of crew members will reside in Darwin with the majority of the fleet."  
 
Navy will lead a small team to Dampier and Karratha in the near future to discuss infrastructure and support issues, including the opportunities to use the logistic support of the area's existing commercial and port facilities.  
 
"This decision will also provide flow-on economic benefits for the region, particularly in relation to logistic support of the ships and transport and accommodation for the patrol boat crews," Senator Hill said. "This initiative is part of a $139.3 million package over four years to protect Australia's offshore oil and gas facilities on the North West Shelf and protect Australia's borders."  
 
The first of the ADF's 12 new Armidale Class patrol boats, HMAS Armidale, has already been delivered to Navy on time and on budget and was commissioned on June 24 in Darwin. The contract process has started to include the additional two vessels in the current contract with Defence Maritime Services and for Austal Ships to build the vessels at its Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.  
 
In order to meet the Government commitment for North West Shelf security, Defence will continue to deploy the Fremantle Class Patrol Boats along with the new Armidale class vessels until the additional two vessels enter into service.  
 
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[Raul Neto]

  Origem do desenho e crédito da informação : http://www.navy.gov.au/fleet/armidale.htm[/list]

[JLRC]

Rafael's Typhoon and Toplite on Australian Patrol Boats
 
 
(Source: Rafael Armament Development Authority; dated July 7, web-posted July 8, 2005)
 
 
 HAIFA, Irasel --- The Australian Ministry of Defense launched its new Armidale Class patrol boats last week outfitted with the Typhoon naval stabilized gun mount produced jointly by Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd and General Dynamics Land Systems, and the Toplite targeting payload produced by RAFAEL. The Armidales will be used to protect the northern coasts of Australia.  
 
Defence Minister Robert Hill said that the Typhoon, which will hold the Bushmaster cannon together with the Toplite electro-optic targeting system will provide a capability not previously available to the Navy.  
 
The Typhoon is a remote-controlled, lightweight, naval stabilized weapon station designed for medium-sized cannons (20-30mm).  
 
The Toplite is a highly stabilized, multi-sensor, electro-optic targeting & observation payload used in the search and tracking of naval and airborne targets during the day, at night and in all weather conditions. The Toplite originates from the well-known Litening navigation and targeting pod.  
 
The Typhoon and Toplite systems have been sold to numerous countries around the world including the US Navy and the Israeli Navy has a great deal of experience with both systems.  
 
The Typhoon weapon station, combined with the Toplite electro-optic targeting payload, is the most effective, operational solution for terrorist threats and for the protection of naval forces.  
 
Another weapon station developed by Rafael is the Mini-Typhoon. It is designed for smaller caliber weapons (Browning 0.5, MPMG 7.62 and 40mm grenade launchers). The Mini-Typhoon has also been sold to several countries including Australia and the United States.  
 
Mr. Giora Katz, Director of Rafael's Naval Systems Directorate, says that "Rafael offers a wide variety of unique, cost-effective solutions for the operational problems facing force protection today."  
 
RAFAEL designs, develops, manufactures and supplies a wide range of advanced defence systems for all branches of the Israel Defence Forces and other armed forces worldwide. These leading-edge products are based on RAFAEL's vast technical and operational experience. In addition to its defence technologies, the company has also formed partnerships with civilian counterparts to develop commercial applications based on its proprietary technology. RAFAEL has a workforce of over 5000 employees and registered sales of over $800 M in 2004.  
 
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[JLRC]

Preferred Designer Chosen for AWD Contract
 
 
(Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued Aug. 16, 2005)
 
 
 The Federal Government has chosen Gibbs & Cox as the preferred designer for Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) - one of Australia’s largest and most complex Defence projects worth up to $6 billion.  
 
Defence Minister Robert Hill said Gibbs & Cox now joins a team made up of ASC Shipbuilder Pty Ltd, who has been selected to build the AWDs, and Raytheon Australia, selected as the Combat System-System Engineer.  
 
Senator Hill said Gibbs & Cox, a United States based company, was chosen through a competitive tender evaluation process that also included German company Blohm + Voss and Spanish company Navantia.  
 
(Editor’s Note: the selected Gibbs & Cox proposal is based on the US Navy’s DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyer.)c  
 
"The selection of Gibbs and Cox as platform designer now completes the team whose responsibility it is to deliver the project," Senator Hill said.  
 
"The Government made the decision after accepting the recommendation of the Source Selection Board on the basis that Gibbs & Cox offered a superior bid in terms of value for money.  
 
"All three companies presented competitive bids and showed themselves to be very competent naval ship designers. Bids were evaluated against a wide range of criteria.  
 
"The Gibbs & Cox evolved design will now compete with an Australianised version of Spain’s existing F100 ship design, and will be further considered by the Government as part of the next phase of the project.  
 
"The construction of the Air Warfare Destroyers will be one of the most significant shipbuilding projects undertaken in Australia to date, and will provide enormous opportunities for Australian industry," Senator Hill said.  
 
The Government has provided $455 million towards the current phase of the project which includes further design work, workforce skilling, initial infrastructure investment and facilities construction.  
 
Senator Hill said the Defence program office would now advise on a location to establish a state of the art AWD System Centre which will house up to 200 personnel working on the development and through life support of the vessels.  
 
The conduct of the evaluation and selection of Gibbs & Cox was reviewed by AWD Program Probity Advisers KPMG and also independently by Sir Laurence Street, both of whom have confirmed that the process was fair and equitable.  
 
"The AWDs represent a quantum leap in the air warfare capabilities of the Navy," Senator Hill said.  
"The vessels, which are to be introduced into service from 2013, will be equipped with the world-class AEGIS Combat System capable of detecting hostile aircraft and missiles at ranges in excess of 150 kilometres."  
 
They will provide significantly increased protection from air attack for troops being transported and deployed on ADF Operations overseas and can provide long-range air warfare defence for a Naval task group.  
 
The AWDs will also have an anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capability, as well as the ability to embark a helicopter at sea. The ship will also be interoperable with the United States and other Coalition partners  
 
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[JLRC]

Anti-Ship Missile Capability For ANZAC Ships
 
 
(Source: Australian Department of Defense; issued Sept. 9, 2005)
 
 
 Canberra-based CEA Technologies has been selected to deliver a cutting edge high technology solution to protect the Navy's ANZAC Class frigates from the increasing threat of anti-ship cruise missiles.  
 
Defence Minister Robert Hill said the Federal Government has approved the second phase of a project to provide the world class anti-ship missiles capability.  
 
CEA Technologies has been chosen to provide a lightweight Active Phased Array Radar system designed and developed at its Fyshwick facility in Canberra.  
 
"The CEA phased array radar system offers the Navy a significant capability boost," Senator Hill said.  
 
"CEA has developed a product that has a genuine competitive advantage in the important criteria of weight, cost, capability and overall value for money.  
 
"These radars have a clear export potential and the market for this technology is estimated in the billions of dollars."  
 
"This new phase of the project is estimated to create up to 130 jobs during acquisition and installation, and 25 jobs to support the capability through the life of the ANZAC Class frigates with around $260 million to be spent in Australia."  
 
The major components of the CEA system are a search and track radar (CEA-FAR) and a phased array missile illuminator (CEA-MOUNT).  
 
In addition to providing self protection, the ANZAC's Anti-Ship Missile Defence system will also be able to protect closely escorted assets such as Amphibious ships, Auxiliary support vessels and merchant vessels.  
 
The Anti-Ship Missile Defence system integrates the radars into the eight ANZAC Class frigates through ANZAC Alliance Team members Tenix Defence Pty Ltd and SAAB Systems Pty Ltd.  
 
Both CEA and the Howard Government have committed significant resources towards reducing the risks inherit in such a high end technology project including conducting sea trials last year.  
 
The selection of CEA further supports the objectives of the Defence Electronic Systems Sector Strategic Plan which includes the development of niche capabilities in RADAR as being of strategic importance to Australia.  
 
The second phase of the project brings the total investment in the ANZACs Anti Ship Missile Defence system to over $700 million. The ANZAC Alliance Team has already commenced work to upgrade the ships' command and control system and install an infra-red search and track system which will provide improved detection of low level aircraft and anti-ship missiles when close to land.  
 
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