Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates 2.0

[Reptilia]

Hence the GP Frigate program.

What would also be good is some sort of drone carrier / helicopter carrier.

Basically the majors and subs, working with the RAAF providing overwatch, while the GPFs and drone carriers sanitise the tactical space allowing the amphibs access.

Damen have a drone carrier with just 48 crew.

 

[StevoJH]

Damen have a drone carrier with just 48 crew.

It will be very interesting to see how the Portuguese utilise it and what drones they fly off it. Only one of the deck spots is really large enough for a full sized helicopter so that sort of limits the size of the platforms they can choose.

A large quadcopter capable of dropping sensors and LWT torpedos could be extremely useful if they have sufficient radius of operation.

 

[koxinga]

Government announces Damen LST-100 selected for Army Landing Craft Heavy.

Government announces next-gen Army Landing Craft Heavy

Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy has announced the selection of the preferred option for the Australian Defence Force’s Landing Craft Heavy under a program that will bolster national defence by establishing a new littoral fleet.

www.defenceconnect.com.au

Hot off the press, Austal to build 8 x Damen LST-100 at Henderson WA probably commencing in 2026. Displacing 3,900 tonnes and capable of carrying six Abrams MBT, 11 Reback IFV or 26 HIMARS.

A decent size, the former HMAS Tobruk was around 6,000 FL tons.

In case anyone is interested, Nigeria ordered these LST-100s awhile back and was built in the UAE. Here are how they look like.