Navy’s operational requirements document for the new frigates, presented to Defence Department secretary Dennis Richardson late last month, called for a far more potent and ambitious warship than either the department or the government was expecting.
The Weekend Australian understands the navy wants its new frigates to be rigged with vertical-launch systems capable of firing 96 missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, double the firepower of the new AWDs, which have 48 missile launchers. Navy also wants the new boats to be between 6000 and 8000 tonnes, dwarfing the current 3000-tonne Anzacs, the 4000-tonne Adelaide-class frigates and potentially even the 7000-tonne AWDs.