I personally suspect the OPVs seeing as they are supposed to have various containerised capabilities which includes stuff like SURTASS-E.
Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates 2.0
- Thread starter OPSSG
- Start date
Yes, that was quite eye opening and slightly worrying to me when that happened. Sorry for the politics, but I was surprised at that.
Thankfully we can get back to focusing on building of the 2050 RAN
This is interesting. I'm dubious of the utility of C-DOME in an escort role given the rather anaemic performance of Tamir against stuff more agile than dumb rockets and shells. I'm personally not confident in its ability to protect its own ship against AShMs let alone another ship it's supposed to be escorting. If we are looking for the type of area defence capability needed for effective escorting then the minimum package we could get that in is 12 cells of Mk 56 packing ESSM. We'd also have to make some radar and CMS upgrades which would be very weight prohibitive.
Last edited:
Sounds like a Rafael pipe dream to me.
Yeah, but the RAN seems to have at least some level of interest which is odd considering they should be well aware of C-DOME's very minimal AShM defence capability.
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
According to the article this is supposedly a new version of C-Dome for naval application but could very well be marketing hype.
It seems we are going to be domestically producing MASS and putting it on the Anzacs and Hobarts. I thought our decoy needs were already well covered by SRBOC and Nulka so this may end up being a replacement of the former or we are just seeing how many types of decoys we can fit on our ships.
www.defenceconnect.com.au
RAN surface combatants to get beefed up anti-ship missile defences
Defence Industry Minister, Pat Conroy has announced a $180m commitment over the next five years to modernise and enhance the anti-ship missile defences of the Royal Australian Navy's major surface co
Not sure but I don't see why it wouldn't also be a future possibility. Soft-kill stuff is cheap and low footprint so it's a very efficient way of increasing overall ship survivability relatively quickly.
Does that then chew up the usable heli pad space?
Are people reading too much into the fact that the Rafael rep was named “Ran?” Smart marketing!
A couple of thoughts on this:
- this system seems very tall…. I’m not a naval architect but won’t that cause stability problems? Also looks like it’d give a lovely big radar reflection.
- if it’s not integrated with the ship’s systems and it’s sitting on the flight deck you’re probably only going to have 180 degree coverage at best.
- why would we introduce another missile type into our supply chain if we don’t have to? There are significant diseconomies of scale, particularly if we’re planning on manufacturing it here.
- presumably there is zero chance of CEC? Not very helpful at all in protecting other vessels part of a task group.
I don’t mind the concept, but I don’t know of a single reason why we wouldn’t go for BAE’s adaptable deck launcher filled with ESSM:
https://www.baesystems.com/en/product/adaptable-deck-launcher
What are the advantages of C Dome over this?
As a broader point - any chat of strapping missiles to the back of the OPVs is a side show. They weren’t designed for this, and are too slow, not robust and don’t have the systems to be effective.
I think they should be reassigned to ABF as others have suggested and used in their intended role.
Going down this route is a recipe for the Gov to divert scarce resources from getting the RAN the proper combatants it needs.
I think they should be reassigned to ABF as others have suggested and used in their intended role.
Going down this route is a recipe for the Gov to divert scarce resources from getting the RAN the proper combatants it needs.
This earlier article on the Iron Beam goes into the drawbacks of this system e.g range ,time on the target to effect, and weather , I cant find any mention of it being deployed by the I.D.F even in support of the Iron Dome
Iron Beam: How Israel’s New Laser Weapon Works (wsj.com)
Iron Beam: How Israel’s New Laser Weapon Works (wsj.com)
The mere fact that they are considering this for what is supposed to just be a constabulary vessel, that has yet to even enter service, shows just how wrong they got the selection of this vessel in the first place.
It does show the value of a proper strategic review and hopefully we will avoid this happening again in the future. Emphasis on the word hopefully.
Just a quick way to arm up the arafuras before they decide to move to a corvette/light frigate? Going off the pic, it would be a good decision not to integrate the c dome coms into the ship as the arafuras long term would be better off going to BF.
Does anyone know if steel has been cut for Arafura 7?
Going Boeing
Well-Known Member
It was reported on 8th August 2022 that the first steel for Arafura #6 had been cut - that would indicate that first steel for #7 should occur soon unless it is being delayed awaiting the RAN review.
Luerssen cuts the first steel of 6th Arafura-class OPV - Naval News
Last edited:
Flexson
Active Member
I'll disagree here. If you read the original OSI (Operating and Support Intent (CONOPS)) then the goal posts at the time of selection was exactly that; A constabulary OSI. A vessel more capable and suitable of doing what the Armidale's were doing. It was the right vessel at the time. As a replacement for the Armidale's they still are the right vessel.
That question would imply the heli pad is usable in the first place. I've seen reports suggesting the heli pad is not capable of handling anything MH-60 sized or larger. If this is the case it's basically free real estate for bolting modular stuff onto since the only thing that will actually be using it as a heli pad is S-100.