Royal New Zealand Navy Discussions and Updates

[ngatimozart]

The Southern Ocean Patrol Vessel program looks like its picking up speed. GETS has the following up:

• SOPV Design and Technical RFP:
• Pacific 2019 Industry presentation which can only be accessed via the industry section of the MOD website.

This months Navy Today indicates: Built to Commercial Specs, Ice capable to the 2017 Polar Code, Endurance of 35 days (25 on station). I quote from the article



Guess Treasury might have won the battle over the replacement of Tangaroa, but it does make sense to maximize the utility of the SOPV.

Is Navy Today out? NZ Post must be on the go slower again.

 

[Gibbo]

Is Navy Today out? NZ Post must be on the go slower again.

Mine was delivered by snail mail Tuesday 3rd... must be the flash new letterbox making my mail arrive quicker...LOL! That is of course until the next friggin courier hits it in his van then tries to deny what he was just witnessed doing!

 

[ngatimozart]

Mine was delivered by snail mail Tuesday 3rd... must be the flash new letterbox making my mail arrive quicker...LOL! That is of course until the next friggin courier hits it in his van then tries to deny what he was just witnessed doing!

Thanks. Courier drivers !!!!! - never read the delivery instructions. I reckon most of them got their drivers licences as free giveaways in their weetbix boxs.

 

[40 deg south]

https://nz.usembassy.gov/u-s-coast-guard-icebreaker-to-visit-wellington/

Now departed, but this old workhorse was tied up next to the Interislander terminal for most of last week.

 

[40 deg south]

HF Communications Contract Awarded | Babcock Australasia

Babcock is set to become a leading provider of High Frequency (HF) radio communications services to the New Zealand…

www.babcock.com.au

“This contract leverages our long-standing, 18 year track record in the UK, where Babcock has been providing a Defence High Frequency Communications Service to the UK Ministry of Defence,” Ruff says. “Babcock will now provide its specialist technology and know-how to New Zealand as a key Five Eyes partner.”

Babcock has won a contrasct to upgrade and supply new HF radio equipment, and the press release indicates they are chasing an equivalent contract in Australia. Contract will cover all three services as far as I can see, which will expand their each beyond their existing Navy contract.

 

[Nighthawk.NZ]

Perhaps they are talking about replacing the Protector class Inshore patrol vessels. For some confusing reason the OPVs and IPVs are both called the Protector class.

Because they were all built as part of "Project Protector"

You're lucky that HMNZS Canterbury isn't also called Protector Class, because it was similarly built as part of the project. Three different types, one class..

Yes, I know this is an old post (around a year or so)... so ... ummm sorry? ;-)

But I want to point out that HMNZS Canterbury is called Protector Class according to the RNZN website.

I quote;
"HMNZS CANTERBURY is a Protector-class amphibious and military sealift vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy."
RNZN - Canterbury

Also the IPV's are not Protector Class they are Lake Class. A carry-over from the old Lake Class IPC's

Again I quote;
"HMNZS ROTOITI is a Lake-class inshore patrol vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy"
RNZN - Rotoiti

Been having this debate with so many people including those on Wikipedia for years. Some even call the IPV's ROTOITI Class which is even further from the truth...

Rant over... I go back to hibernation now.

 

[ngatimozart]

Yes, I know this is an old post (around a year or so)... so ... ummm sorry? ;-)

But I want to point out that HMNZS Canterbury is called Protector Class according to the RNZN website.

I quote;
"HMNZS CANTERBURY is a Protector-class amphibious and military sealift vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy."
RNZN - Canterbury

Also the IPV's are not Protector Class they are Lake Class. A carry-over from the old Lake Class IPC's

Again I quote;
"HMNZS ROTOITI is a Lake-class inshore patrol vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy"
RNZN - Rotoiti

Been having this debate with so many people including those on Wikipedia for years. Some even call the IPV's ROTOITI Class which is even further from the truth...

Rant over... I go back to hibernation now.

Yep, not sure how the class naming came about but I have my unsubstantiated suspicions that the then government made the decision, rather than the navy. The then PM was a control freak, especially with regard to defence, which she disliked with a passion. Her pet hates: Shyhawks, F-16s, and frigates.

 

[Rob c]

Yep, not sure how the class naming came about but I have my unsubstantiated suspicions that the then government made the decision, rather than the navy. The then PM was a control freak, especially with regard to defence, which she disliked with a passion. Her pet hates: Shyhawks, F-16s, and frigates.

And Macchi's , the original report returned by defence under her draconian rules she set up to eliminate the Skyhawks , showed that they could keep the Macchi's so the rules were changed , possibly when the LAV numbers went from 72 to 105.
Please help me with the new mag format so i can get it big enough for my elderly eyes to read , full screen does not cut it.

 

[ngatimozart]

Double click / tap on the page and it about doubles the size.

 

[CJohn]

Some interesting capacity targets for the SOPV from the Pacific 2019 industry presentation. Detailed business case in 2021, delivery of capacity in 2026/27.
35+ days endurance and 7000+nm range. Organic helo and UAV capability. A crane loading system for stored TEU's and a small landing craft that will incorporate a self unloading handling system.

This and more from the power point presentation Here

 

[ngatimozart]

Some interesting capacity targets for the SOPV from the Pacific 2019 industry presentation. Detailed business case in 2021, delivery of capacity in 2026/27.
35+ days endurance and 7000+nm range. Organic helo and UAV capability. A crane loading system for stored TEU's and a small landing craft that will incorporate a self unloading handling system.

This and more from the power point presentation Here

Thanks for posting the PPP. Quite a lot of good info in there, especially around the Southern Ocean wave climate, how it differs from the North Atlantic and the sea ice thickness details. Although the info is a very short precis, it gives the importantant facts.

 

[chis73]

At last a semi-official update on the frigate situation via the parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Select Committee. See page 5-6 here. Te Kaha is now officially 4 months late (quite likely 6 months or more if you believe the recent Jane's article, more than 12 if you believe RNZN's original estimates). However, the Ministry is only "kind of concerned" and "not panicking" (those aren't my quote marks - they are verbatim from the report).

Delay in the upgrade of Te Kaha
The Secretary of Defence told us that Te Mana is expected to return to New Zealand from its refurbishment in mid-2021. However, Te Kaha’s return has been delayed by four months, to “later 2020”. We heard that the ministry has a senior team working closely with Lockheed Martin in Canada to mitigate any further delays. The ministry has also engaged Lockheed Martin US. The Secretary of Defence said that the ministry is “kind of concerned”, but is “not panicking”. The ministry told us that it entered into a fixed-price contract with Lockheed Martin for the installation phase of the two frigate upgrades. It has not had to spend any more than originally planned. We heard that the contract did not include any penalties for delays. However, it is structured so that payments are only made when certain milestones have been completed, so there is a cash flow penalty to Lockheed Martin. The ministry said it is confident that Lockheed Martin is doing its best to address an upgrade that is much more complex than foreseen. The complexities include areas being more difficult to access than expected, and some work being unable to be done concurrently.

Good Grief! Did we hire Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski as our Secretary of Defence? A $639m project is way behind schedule, "much more complex than foreseen", and you're "kind of concerned". "Whoa, Bummer man! What's with all the negative energy?" Maybe we need to send in a team of nihilists with an attack ferret to pee on his rug.

The great danger is that, like during the delays to the introduction of the Protector fleet (circa 2008-2010), a great many of our sailors will give up waiting and leave. So there is a grave danger of an already hollow force imploding on itself. There are signs of this already in the Feb 2020 Navy Today (note the increased intake allotments of recruits). The Secretary should be "deeply concerned" that things have got this out of hand. It probably is time to panic. To me, it doesn't seem like Lockheed Martin Canada give a toss whether they don't get paid any more for this little project, and our frigates sit in Canada indefinitely.

Sadly, no mention of the Hercules replacements in the report either. The GOTD has been sitting on the approval from the US for more than 3 months now. Way too much space taken up with "rainbow" & gender issues as usual too. It's depressing reading. Even the Defence estate refurbishment seems to be in the "too hard" basket.

 

[Gibbo]

At last a semi-official update on the frigate situation via the parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Select Committee. See page 5-6 here. Te Kaha is now officially 4 months late (quite likely 6 months or more if you believe the recent Jane's article, more than 12 if you believe RNZN's original estimates). However, the Ministry is only "kind of concerned" and "not panicking" (those aren't my quote marks - they are verbatim from the report).



Good Grief! Did we hire Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski as our Secretary of Defence? A $639m project is way behind schedule, "much more complex than foreseen", and you're "kind of concerned". "Whoa, Bummer man! What's with all the negative energy?" Maybe we need to send in a team of nihilists with an attack ferret to pee on his rug.

The great danger is that, like during the delays to the introduction of the Protector fleet (circa 2008-2010), a great many of our sailors will give up waiting and leave. So there is a grave danger of an already hollow force imploding on itself. There are signs of this already in the Feb 2020 Navy Today (note the increased intake allotments of recruits). The Secretary should be "deeply concerned" that things have got this out of hand. It probably is time to panic. To me, it doesn't seem like Lockheed Martin Canada give a toss whether they don't get paid any more for this little project, and our frigates sit in Canada indefinitely.

Sadly, no mention of the Hercules replacements in the report either. The GOTD has been sitting on the approval from the US for more than 3 months now. Way too much space taken up with "rainbow" & gender issues as usual too. It's depressing reading. Even the Defence estate refurbishment seems to be in the "too hard" basket.

Jeeesus ...and ONE serviceable P3 on the date listed... how can any NZ Govt put their hand on their heart and say we pull our weight or punch above it etc etc... sounds more like a defence force on the verge of collapse!

 

[ngatimozart]

Jeeesus ...and ONE serviceable P3 on the date listed... how can any NZ Govt put their hand on their heart and say we pull our weight or punch above it etc etc... sounds more like a defence force on the verge of collapse!

Because they live in their own make believe world which is inhabited by unicorns and pink elephants dancing in tutus. What do you expect from the current govt and Kiwi pollies in general? Common sense and sensibility; most definitely not, especially when one member of the committee was rabbitting on about NZDF doing business with a company, Lockheed Martin, that is a purveyor of God forbid, nuclear weapons. Shock horror.

 

[oldsig127]

Because they live in their own make believe world which is inhabited by unicorns and pink elephants dancing in tutus. What do you expect from the current govt and Kiwi pollies in general? Common sense and sensibility; most definitely not, especially when one member of the committee was rabbitting on about NZDF doing business with a company, Lockheed Martin, that is a purveyor of God forbid, nuclear weapons. Shock horror.

The problem is hardly politicians alone. When the population of NZ rate Defence as highly as hugs and hijabs there may be a case for a brave politician to make. In the meanwhile it looks from across the ditch like a suicide mission that won't be ameliorated until something dramatic happens to wake the voter up. Do you have a pollie with the understanding, standing and guts to take on the mission? Not feeling confident I'm afraid

oldsig

 

[ngatimozart]

The problem is hardly politicians alone. When the population of NZ rate Defence as highly as hugs and hijabs there may be a case for a brave politician to make. In the meanwhile it looks from across the ditch like a suicide mission that won't be ameliorated until something dramatic happens to wake the voter up. Do you have a pollie with the understanding, standing and guts to take on the mission? Not feeling confident I'm afraid

oldsig

Neither am I. To many feeding at the through blinded by greed, Chinese gold and ideological fallacies.

 

[John Fedup]

Neither am I. To many feeding at the through blinded by greed, Chinese gold and ideological facilities.

Reminds me of one of most honest statements any Canadian PM made, Brian Mulroney, “voters are a bunch of whiners”.

 

[htbrst]

Some interesting capacity targets for the SOPV from the Pacific 2019 industry presentation. Detailed business case in 2021, delivery of capacity in 2026/27.
35+ days endurance and 7000+nm range. Organic helo and UAV capability. A crane loading system for stored TEU's and a small landing craft that will incorporate a self unloading handling system.

This and more from the power point presentation Here

Heaps of interesting information in that presentation.

As found on another forum, Defence Models and Graphics, made a model of this proposal for a SOPV - RNZN containers and all

https://www.facebook.com/DMGPtyLtd/posts/2385145504918412

 

[ASSAIL]

Heaps of interesting information in that presentation.

As found on another forum, Defence Models and Graphics, made a model of this proposal for a SOPV - RNZN containers and all

https://www.facebook.com/DMGPtyLtd/posts/2385145504918412

If I was designing a ship for the Southern Ocean it would NOT have all its accommodation and Command Bridge foreword where vertical movement and acceleration in heavy seas is greatest.
That space would be reserved for cargo and the bridge would be moved aft to the centre of rotation.
The designers of most polar vessels follow this maxim.

Google Image Result for https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Aurora_Australis_and_penguins.jpg/220px-Aurora_Australis_and_penguins.jpg

 

[ngatimozart]

If I was designing a ship for the Southern Ocean it would NOT have all its accommodation and Command Bridge foreword where vertical movement and acceleration in heavy seas is greatest.
That space would be reserved for cargo and the bridge would be moved aft to the centre of rotation.
The designers of most polar vessels follow this maxim.

Google Image Result for https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Aurora_Australis_and_penguins.jpg/220px-Aurora_Australis_and_penguins.jpg

This is the VARD-7-100-ICE-AOPV.



So you can see that the bridge is further back than on the model.




Even the VARD-7-110-OPV has the bridge further back than the model.

On Facebook the Modeller said that the model was made last year, but they've given no clue as to who their client was.