USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) comes alongside the Military Sealift Command Oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO 189) for an underway replenishment (UNREP)
Source: currinsnavalandmaritme
UK’s seventh Astute-class submarine to be named HMS Achilles – January 27, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić
UK’s seventh Astute-class submarine to be named HMS Achilles – January 27, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić
In May 2018, it was announced that the Ministry of Defense had signed a £1.5 billion contract with BAE Systems for the construction of the seventh Astute-class hunter-killer submarine at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
Initially set to be named HMS Agincourt, the submarine has now been designated HMS Achilles following approval by the King of the UK, Charles III. According to the navy, this new name honors a rich history, as HMS Achilles will be the sixth vessel in the navy’s history to carry the name, which is closely linked to significant battles such as the River Plate and Okinawa.
This change in name comes at a time of particular historical resonance, “with the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day this year”, the navy noted.
In October last year, the sixth vessel in this class, HMS Agamemnon, was formally launched at BAE Systems’ facility in Barrow.
Related Article
At 97 meters long and weighing 7,400 tonnes, the Astute-class submarines are said to be the first nuclear-powered submarines to be designed entirely in a three-dimensional, computer-aided environment.
They can manufacture their own oxygen and fresh water from the ocean and are said to be able to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing. The submarines carry both Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles (TLAM) and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes.
Five Astute-class submarines, Anson, Astute, Ambush, Artful, and Audacious, are already in service, while work is also well underway in Barrow on the seventh unit.
Source: currinsnavalandmaritme
Peruvian Navy launches two new patrol ships
January 27, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić
The newly launched patrol vessels are part of a broader initiative to strengthen the country’s naval capabilities. They are the seventh and eighth ship in a series of ten new units Peru’s state-owned SIMA Peru is building for the Peruvian Navy.
The Peruvian Navy also recently held a keel-laying ceremony for four new naval ships. The vessels will be built by South Korean shipbuilding heavyweight HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) in collaboration with SIMA Peru.
Related Article
The ships in question are a 3,400-ton frigate, a 2,200-ton oceangoing patrol vessel, and two 1,500-ton landing vessels. They are scheduled to be delivered successively to the Peruvian Navy starting in 2026.
The multi-role frigate will be a multipurpose unit capable of operating in different areas of naval warfare, while the offshore patrol ship will be able to protect national interests and provide disaster relief. The logistics transport ships will support naval operations by transporting essential supplies like fuel, food, and medical aid to ships deployed in the open ocean.
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Source: currinsnavalandmaritme
Royal Navy submarine ordered to surface near Russian spy ship, Healey reveals
22nd January 2025 at 2:42pm
The submarine John Healey used to send the message to the Russians is thought to have been an Astute-class boat (Picture: MOD)
A Royal Navy submarine was ordered to surface to warn off one of the Russian navy’s spy ships operating around UK waters, the Defence Secretary has revealed.
John Healey gave details about the activities of the Yantar, which he said the Russians had been using for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.
Mr Healey warned Russian president Vladimir Putin: “We see you, we know what you are doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”
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He told MPs the Yantar was in the North Sea having passed through British waters in recent days, where it had been shadowed by Royal Navy ships HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne.
This was the second time the Yantar had entered UK waters in recent months.
“In November, the ship was also closely watched and detected loitering over UK critical undersea infrastructure. To deter any potential threat, I took measured steps,” he told the Commons.
“I authorised a Royal Navy submarine, strictly as a deterrent measure, to surface close to the Yantar to make clear that we had been covertly monitoring its every move.
“The ship then left UK waters without further loitering and sailed down to the Mediterranean.”
The submarine is understood to have been one of the Navy’s Astute-class nuclear-powered boats.
Rules of engagement
When the Yantar returned to the waters around the UK on Monday, Mr Healey changed the Royal Navy’s rules of engagement to allowing shadowing vessels to get closer.
The Defence Secretary said: “The foreign ship Yantar is currently in the North Sea having passed through British waters.
“Let me be clear, this is a Russian spy ship used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.
“Yantar entered the UK exclusive economic zone about 45 miles off the British coast on Monday.
“For the last two days the Royal Navy has deployed HMS Somerset and HMS Tyne to monitor the vessel every minute through our waters.
“I changed the Royal Navy’s rules of engagement so that our warships can get closer and better track the Yantar.
“So far, the ship has complied with international rules of navigation.”
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge approved of the change to the Navy’s rules of engagement.
“[It] sends a powerful signal to Putin that we will not be intimidated and that if his aim is to keep pushing the boundaries of malign activity in our waters, and those proximate to us, we will respond,” he said.
The UK is playing a leading role in countering the growing Russian threat to offshore infrastructure in European seas.
As part of the UK’s ongoing work, the Royal Air Force will provide aircraft to a new Nato deployment designed to strengthen protection of offshore infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
This was announced following damage to the Estlink2 undersea cable between Estonia and Finland.
In response to that incident, the Prime Minister held talks with his Estonian and Finnish counterparts as the UK activated Nordic Warden.
This is an advanced new AI system that helps monitor the Russian shadow fleet and safeguards undersea infrastructure.
Russia’s shadow fleet of ships is used to attempt to bypass international sanctions – and help fund Russia’s war in Ukraine – by moving Russian oil and gas to potential buyers.
As part of the initiative launched by the PM at the European Political Community last year, the UK has sanctioned 93 oil tankers.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, which supports Royal Navy operations, is a key element of the UK’s strategy to safeguard offshore infrastructure, with its multi-role ocean surveillance ship, RFA Proteus, capable of deploying submersible drones to assess undersea cables and pipelines.
RFA Proteus was also involved in the shadowing of Yantar last November.
French Carrier Charles de Gaulle Kicks Off La Perouse Exercise in South East Asia
Dzirhan Mahadzir – January 21, 2025 5:07 PM
French aircraft carrier, FS Charles De Gaulle (R91) passes alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) in the Mediterranean Sea, May 2, 2024. US Navy Photo
The French Carrier Strike Group is spearheading the French Navy-led multinational biennial exercise La Perouse 25 that began on Thursday across three critical maritime passages in South East Asia.
The 2025 exercise also marks the first time that South East Asian nations are participating in the exercise, albeit in separate national segments for each country. The French CSG is leading maritime security and cooperation drills with the Indian Navy, Indonesian Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy in the Malacca, Sunda and Lombok straits.
The French CSG, consisting of carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), destroyer FS Forbin (D620), frigates FS Provence (D652) and FS Alsace (D656), fleet oiler FS Jacques Chevallier (A725) and a nuclear-powered attack submarine, is conducting a deployment to the Indo-Pacific known as Clemenceau 25, which began in the last week of November 2024.
The CSG previously docked in Goa and Kochi, India, from Jan. 3-9 and, subsequently, Indian Navy destroyer INS Mormugao (D67) conducted tactical maneuver and helicopter cross-deck drills with Forbin and a replenishment-at-sea drill with Jacques Chevallier in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, embarked Rafale fighter aircraft on Charles De Gaulle carried out a joint anti-aircraft drill with Indian Air Force Sukhoi and Jaguar fighter aircraft, according to a French Embassy release. Forbin then pulled into Penang Island, Malaysia, on Jan. 12 for a port visit, departing on Thursday to begin the Malacca Strait phase of La Perouse.
La Perouse 25 is divided into three locations – the Malacca Strait, the Sunda Strait and the Lombok Strait. The objective of the exercise is to provide maritime safety in the three critical straits through the French Navy operating with regional and international partners and sharing information and coordinating actions against multiple threats by using the Indo-Pacific Information Sharing platform (IORIS).
“The strengthening of maritime safety will be at the heart of this exercise, with the development of interoperability between partner navies and the ability to act collectively in the event of a maritime crisis,” read a France Pacific Command (ALPACI) release on the exercise.
The release stated that the exercise participants will train with searches and interventions on vessels suspected of illicit activities, with some of the ships in the exercise playing the role of the suspected ships.
The Malacca Strait phase ran from Thursday to Sunday, with Forbin drilling first with RMN corvette KD Lekir (FSG26), training ship KD Gagah Samudera (271), an RMN fast combat boat and two Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) F/A-18D Hornet fighters in the Malacca Strait, according to an RMN release. Among the drills carried out were simulated local air-defense exercise, air-defense exercise, surface firing exercise, advance interdiction and boarding exercise and a photo exercise.
Forbin then conducted drills with RSN littoral mission vessel RSS Independence (15) in the Singapore Strait, which joins the Malacca Strait’s southern exit. Jacques Chevalier also pulled into Singapore on Thursday for a logistical stop, according to a post by the French CSG on its official X account.
The Sunda Strait phase ran from Thursday to Monday. A French Embassy release stated that Indonesia is providing base support for two French Navy Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) participating in La Perouse. A French Air Force A400M transport providing logistical support for Altantique 2s are staging out of Kertajati International Airport, West Java, for the exercise.
The largest part of the exercise, the Lombok Strait phase, taking place from Tuesday to Friday, has the French CSG drilling with an Indian Navy destroyer INS Mumbai (D62), destroyer HMAS Hobart (DDG39), RCN frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH341), RN offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey (P234) and U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship USS Savannah (LCS-28), with the ships’ commanding officers gathering on carrier Charles De Gaulle on Saturday for a pre-exercise meeting.
Despite it being the first time Southeast Asian nations have participated in La Perouse, all three countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – have limited their participation to a direct bilateral phase close to their own territory. In addition, the French CSG units taking part in the exercise are mirroring the Malacca Straits Patrol initiative, in which Indonesia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand conduct sea and air patrols to provide security in the Malacca Straits, but with each country conducting separate patrols in their own waters and airspace rather than a joint patrol. It is presumed that the national sovereignty aspects over the critical waterways for each nation have resulted in the three countries limiting their participation. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) participated in the previous La Perouse exercise in 2023 but is not participating this year. This is likely because of the JMSDF not having a naval unit currently deployed or transiting the region and later drilling with the French CSG in the upcoming multinational Pacific Steller exercise in the Philippine Sea.
Following La Perouse, the French CSG is expected to operate in the South China Sea before carrying out Exercise Pacific Steller in the Philippine Sea with U.S., Australian, Canadian and Japanese forces. It is likely the French CSG will conduct dual carrier operations with the Carl Vinson CSG, currently operating in the South China Sea and the only U.S. Navy CSG deployed at sea in the Western Pacific, at some point during the French CSG’s deployment.
RAN destroyer Hobart is on a six-week regional presence deployment to Southeast Asia that is expected to conclude by late February according to an Australian Defence Department release.
Ottawa is deployed under the Canadian Armed Forces’ Operation Horizon forward-presence mission in the Indo-Pacific, having left Canada on Oct. 16, 2024. From Jan. 8-11, Ottawa and U.S. Navy destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76) conducted bilateral operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific in the South China Sea, stated a Thursday release from U.S. 7th Fleet.
“Exercise Noble Wolverine was, for our team, another successful integration between two highly trained and capable navies. The anti-submarine warfare, communications exercises and flying operations were seamless as usual, and occurred in the international waters of an area of the world where undisrupted movement of maritime trade is critical to the region and greater global community,” said Cmdr. Adriano Lozer, commanding officer of Ottawa, in the release.
The release stated that during the operations, Higgins and Ottawa conducted maritime communications training and dynamic coordinated maneuvering.
“The U.S. Navy regularly operates alongside our allies in the Indo-Pacific region as a demonstration of our shared commitment to the rules-based international order. Bilateral operations such as this one provide valuable opportunities to train, exercise and develop tactical interoperability across allied navies in the Indo-Pacific,” read the release.
Carrier John F. Kennedy Leaves Philadelphia for Final Voyage to Texas Scrapyard
John Grady – January 16, 2025 8:41 PM – Updated: January 16, 2025 11:45 PM
The remains of the Navy’s last conventionally-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) is on its way from the Navy’s Philadelphia Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling.
Shortly before 9 a.m., tugs maneuvered the hulk down the Delaware River and was attached via a tow line to the ship Laney Chouest and both headed to the Atlantic.
The first ship named for the former president was decommissioned in 2007 at Mayport, Fla., and has been in Philadelphia ever since.
At the carrier’s Mayport decommissioning ceremony, Adm. John Nathman, then Fleet Forces commander, hailed “Big John,” its nickname, as “an icon of American might and freedom.”
Kennedy, built at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., was commissioned on Sept. 7, 1968. The ship was christened the year before by the president’s daughter Caroline, then 9. Her mother, Jacqueline designed the carrier’s in-port cabin. A Navy spokesman at the time of the decommissioning said, “it is the only room on a Navy ship with wood paneling.”
For 10 years in Philadelphia, the carrier, the first Navy ship named for Kennedy, was in donation status. That means it can be transferred to a qualified non-profit for restoration and repurposing, often as a museum.
The Navy is expecting delivery of the second John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), a year later than originally projected. USNI News reported earlier that the “The Navy is implementing a strategy to pull baseline work from the Post Shakedown Availability (PSA) into the construction period in order to provide more capability at ship delivery,” the Navy’s shipbuilding budget books [for Fiscal Year 2024] read.
The carrier will also be the second in the Ford-class. Like its predecessor, the carrier is being built in Newport News.
The Navy sold the original JFK to International Shipbreaking Limited/EMR Brownsville in 2021 for one cent. The work was expected to begin in late 2023, but was put on hold by the Navy until now, the Brownsville Herald reported.
The firm had just handled the dismantling of USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) in 2023.
In 2023, Robert Berry, vice president of International Shipbreaking Ltd./EMR Brownsville, told the Brownsville newspaper the Navy “is taking a harder line on security with the JFK than he’s ever experienced in all his years of dealing with that branch of the military, and that this particular ship has more security surrounding it than the other carriers ISL has received in the past.”
The Naval Historical and Heritage Command noted in its ship’s history the original Kennedy conducted 18 deployments including to the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean and Adriatic seas, during a period of escalating tension in the Middle East beginning with the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and neighboring Arab states and off Lebanon in 1983 following the bombing of the Marine Barracks and French forces quarter that claimed more than 300 lives.
In 1991’s Operation Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait, the ship launched a total of 114 strikes and 2,895 combat sorties were flown for a total of 11,263 flight hours.
The carrier’s final combat deployment came in 2003 in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, NHHC wrote. “Of note during the OEF deployment, John F. Kennedy’s aircraft dropped more than 62 million pounds of ordnance on Taliban and al Qaeda targets and supported U.S. and Coalition forces on the ground with close air support, on occasion working with Special Forces units.”
As Kennedy moved down the Delaware River, the historic passenger liner SS United States still remained pier side in Philadelphia. The liner was to be towed in November originally to Norfolk to be cleaned and prepped for sinking as an artificial reef for diving and fishing off Oskaloosa County, Fla., along the state’s Gulf Coast.
The Coast Guard had halted the liner’s movement to ensure its seaworthiness. Although cleared now when it will be moved, now to Mobile, Ala., for the prep work before sinking is still unknown, Oskaloosa County officials said Wednesday.
Although the Coast Guard has cleared SS United States to leave Philadelphia, Nick Tomecek, public information officer for Oskaloosa County, its owner, said no date has yet been set for the towed transit.
The county “hired a marine architect/engineering firm to perform stability tests. Those tests are complete and that data was submitted to the Coast Guard and was approved to allow us to move to the next step,” which is the move.
Tomecek told USNI News Wednesday, “We are currently on budget and on schedule for the vessel reef deployment process.” He added, the entire project cost allocation is $10.1 million. That includes buying the vessel for $1 million, another $1 million to the SS United States Conservancy, and additional funding for the remediation, dock fees and deployment of the vessel as the World’s Largest Artificial Reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
In October, the county took title to the historic ship, effectively ending a three-year-long legal struggle between the non-profit that owned SS United States and Penn Warehouse and Distribution, the owner of the pier where it has been berthed for years.
The dispute centered on the doubling of the berthing charges at the same time as the SS United States Conservancy, established in 2011, was still trying to raise funds to preserve the liner as a museum/hotel, similar to the Queen Mary’s operation in Long Beach, Calif.
At the ceremony transferring the title, Paul Mixon, chairman of the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, told The Philadelphia Inquirer he was proud of Florida’s ability to “keep that legacy going” through the museum and reefing of the ship. The museum will receive the group’s collections of original artifacts and artwork from the ship, as well as at least one of the vessel’s iconic funnels.
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USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 13, 2025
U.S. Naval Institute Staff – January 13, 2025 11:22 AM
These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Jan. 13, 2025, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.
Ships Underway
| Total Battle Force | Deployed | Underway |
| 296 (USS 235, USNS 61) | 91 (USS 62, USNS 29) | 32 (20 Deployed, 12 Local) |
In Japan
Amphibious warship USS America (LHA-6) is in port in Sasebo, Japan. Aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is in port in Yokosuka, Japan.
America is set to leave Japan and shift homeports to San Diego later this year, USNI News has learned.
In the South China Sea
Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), with Carrier Air Wing 2 embarked, is operating in the South China Sea.
Carrier Strike Group 1
Carrier
USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), homeported in San Diego, Calif.
Carrier Air Wing 2
- The “Bounty Hunters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 2 – F/A-18F – from Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
- The “Stingers” of VFA-113 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
- The “World Famous Golden Dragons” of VFA-192 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
- The “Warhawks” of VFA-97 – F-35C – from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
- The “Gauntlets” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136 – EA-18G – from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
- The “Black Eagles” of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 113 – E-2D – from Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif.
- The “Providers” of Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 30 Det. – C-2A – from Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.
- The “Black Knights” of Helicopter Sea Squadron (HSC) 4 – MH-60S – from Naval Air Station North Island.
- The “Blue Hawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78 – MH-60R – from Naval Air Station North Island.
Cruiser
USS Princeton (CG-59), homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif.
Destroyer Squadron 1
Destroyer Squadron 1 is based in San Diego, Calif., and is embarked on Carl Vinson.
- USS Sterett (DDG-104), homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif.
- USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110), homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
In the Antarctic
U.S. Coast Guard heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) arrived at McMurdo Station in Antarctica on Thursday to commence its annual icebreaking mission in support of Operation Deep Freeze.
In the Eastern Mediterranean
As of last week, the Navy has one independently deployed guided-missile surface warship in the Mediterranean.
- USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79), homeported at Naval Station Rota.
In the Red Sea
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is in the Red Sea.
Carrier Strike Group 8
Carrier
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Carrier Air Wing 1
- The “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 – F/A-18F – from Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
- The “Pukin’ Dogs” of VFA 143 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
- The “Sunliners” of VFA 81 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
- The “Knighthawks” of VFA 136 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
- The “Main Battery” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 144 – EA-18G – from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
- The “Seahawks” of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 126 – E-2D – from Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
- The “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 40 Det. – C-2A – from Naval Station Norfolk.
- The “Proud Warriors” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 72 – MH-60R – from Naval Station Norfolk.
- The “Dragonslayers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11 – MH-60S – from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
Cruiser
USS Gettysburg (CG-64), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Destroyer Squadron 28
Destroyer Squadron 28 is based in Naval Station Norfolk, Va., and is embarked on Harry S. Truman.
- USS Stout (DDG-55), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.
- USS Jason Dunham(DDG-109), homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.
- USS The Sullivans (DDG-67), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Guided-missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729) is operating in the Middle East. The Ohio-class submarine carries 154 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles as well as special operations forces.
U.S. ships continue to patrol the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, the U.S.-led multinational effort to protect merchant vessels moving through the region. Houthi forces in Yemen continue to attack merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while U.S. naval forces in the region have continued strikes against Houthi weapons that U.S. Central Command says are a threat to naval and merchant ships.
On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command forces performed multiple strikes against two Houthi underground weapon storage facilities in Yemen. The Houthis used these facilities to conduct attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to CENTCOM.
In the Persian Gulf
U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters are forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA). PATFORSWA deploys Coast Guard personnel and ships with U.S. and regional naval forces throughout the Middle East. Initially deployed in 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, PATFORSWA is now a permanent presence based out of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In the Eastern Pacific
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Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departed Bremerton, Wash., last Monday, according to ship spotters.
In addition to these major formations, not shown are others serving in submarines, individual surface ships, aircraft squadrons, SEALs, Special Purpose Marine Air-G
A new era for Australian naval firepower: Successful Tomahawk launch for RAN
10 December 2024 – By: Stephen Kuper
HMAS Brisbane fires a Tomahawk Weapon System off the coast of San Diego, USA (Source: Defence Image Library)
Australia has joined an exclusive club following the successful firing of a Tomahawk cruise missile by HMAS Brisbane, a major milestone for the future firepower of the Royal Australian Navy.
The successful test firing makes Australia one of only three nations alongside the United States and United Kingdom to acquire, and now fire, the Tomahawk cruise missiles. HMAS Brisbane, a Hobart class destroyer, has successfully fired a Tomahawk missile during a test and evaluation activity conducted off the west coast of the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles celebrated this capability milestone, saying, “The successful test firing of the Tomahawk missile demonstrates the strength of our alliance and defence cooperation with the United States, in support of a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.”
With an extended range of up to 2,500km, the Tomahawk is a world-class capability, which allows maritime platforms to perform long-range precision strike against land targets. Acquiring this capability significantly enhances the ADF’s ability to deter against any potential threat and keep Australians safe.
“By enhancing our own Defence capabilities, and by working with partners, we change the calculus for any potential aggressor so that no state will ever conclude the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks,” the Deputy Prime Minister added.
This Tomahawk firing follows the firings of the Naval Strike Missile and Standard Missile 6 earlier this year and is a practical demonstration of the speed at which the Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to enhance the lethality of Navy’s surface combatant fleet.
Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, Pat Conroy echoed the sentiments of the Deputy Prime Minister saying, “The Tomahawk is the jewel in the crown and a step change in our firepower, deterrence and ability to strike land-based targets at ranges never before available to the Royal Australian Navy.”
Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk missiles, which will be deployed in its Hobart class destroyers and future Navy platforms including Virginia class submarines and, subject to feasibility studies, the Hunter class frigates.