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ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY DECOMMISSIONS PATROL BOAT PIRIE

Photo: Royal Australian Navy/Leading Seaman Shane Cameron

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) decommissioned the patrol boat HMAS Pirie in a ceremony at its homeport of Darwin on Friday, March 26.

Pirie, the first Armidale-class patrol boat to be decommissioned, conducted a wide variety of border protection missions and tasks to combat illegal fishing over the past 15 years. The vessel also deployed on Operation Resolute, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) operation to protect Australia’s borders and offshore maritime interests.

The navy said the decommissioning will help make way for the first of the service’s new Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

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The construction of the much more advanced 4th Chinese aircraft carrier has reportedly started as PLAN pushes ahead with massive expansion. This will give a big maritime power boost as it adds to the expanding fleet of destroyers, frigates, conventional and nuclear submarines and assault ships. This is a clear visible momentum towards the stated goal of having six operational aircraft carriers by 2035. Watch the video to know more about the Type 004 super carrier.

 

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USS Annapolis Visits Australia

USS Annapolis visits HMAS Stirling

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Kaitlyn Eads | ROCKINGHAM, Western Australia (March 10, 2024) – U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to the… read more

ROCKINGHAM, WA, AUSTRALIA

03.11.2024

Courtesy Story

Commander, Submarine Group Seven  

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ROCKINGHAM, Australia–USS Annapolis (SSN 760) arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia Sunday.

This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

“Historically, we’ve had allied SSNs visit Australian ports for many decades totaling more than 1,800 days,” said Rear Adm. Matt Buckley, Head of Nuclear Submarine Capability at the Australian Submarine Agency. “Starting with USS North Carolina (SSN 777) last August, these visits are taking on a more important meaning for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Submarine Agency as we build the infrastructure, knowledge, and stewardship needed to establish SRF-West in 2027.”

Increasing the number of SSN visits to Australia and the establishment of SRF-W comprise the first of three Optimal Pathway phases. As early as 2027, the United States will begin rotational presence in the Western Australia facility as a way to grow the RAN’s ability to operate and maintain a fleet of SSNs. Ultimately, there will be up to four U.S. Virginia-class submarines and one United Kingdom Astute-class submarine at HMAS Stirling.

The second phase of the Optimal Pathway begins in the early 2030s, with the United States selling Australia three Virginia-class submarines, with the potential to sell up to two more if needed. Phase Three sees the combination of a base British submarine design and advanced United States technology to deliver SSN-AUKUS, the future attack submarine for both Australia and the United Kingdom. Australia plans to deliver the first Australian-built SSN-AUKUS in the early 2040s.

“Having our submarines rotating through HMAS Stirling is critical to building Australia’s sovereign capability to safely and competently operate SSNs,” shared Rear Adm. Lincoln Reifsteck, the U.S. AUKUS Pillar One Program Manager. “Each visit will build upon the previous one and allow the RAN team to grow its capabilities. This visit will see Australians take a more active role in the execution of a voyage repair period.”

“For decades, the U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and Royal Navy have trained and operated together,” said Rear Adm. Chris Cavanaugh, Commander, Submarine Group (CSG) 7. “AUKUS is a natural extension of our already close relationship, building unprecedented capability and interoperability that will pay dividends for generations.”

“It’s an honor to be here and the team looks forward to working with the Australians and furthering our relationship,” said Cmdr. James Tuthill, Commanding Officer, USS Annapolis. “The enthusiasm and professionalism of the HMAS Stirling team is apparent, and we look forward to making this visit as productive as possible.”

Initially announced in September 2021, the AUKUS trilateral agreement is a strategic endeavor aimed at strengthening the security and defense capabilities of the three nations that also promotes stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia will acquire conventionally armed SSNs for the Royal Australian Navy under Pillar I of AUKUS via the Optimal Pathway announced by the heads of the three partner nations on March 13, 2023.

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US Army scraps Extended Range Cannon Artillery prototype effort By Jen Judson Mar 12, 07:00 AM

 

The ERCA system uses a service-developed, 58-caliber gun tube mounted on the chassis of a BAE Systems-made Paladin Integrated Management howitzer. (Ana Henderson/U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army is changing its approach to acquiring a long-range artillery capability and scrapping its 58-caliber Extended Range Cannon Artillery prototyping effort, according to the service’s acquisition chief.

“We concluded the prototyping activity last fall,” Doug Bush told reporters at a March 8 briefing on the fiscal 2025 budget request. “Unfortunately, [it was] not successful enough to go straight into production.”

The new plan — following an “exhaustive” tactical fires study meant to revalidate elements of the extended-range cannon requirement led by Army Futures Command — is to evaluate existing options from industry this summer “to get a sense of the maturity of those systems.”

Of the 24 new Army systems slated to make it into the hands of soldiers by the end of 2023, only the Extended Range Cannon Artillery program missed that goal. The ERCA system uses a service-developed, 58-caliber gun tube mounted on the chassis of a BAE Systems-made Paladin Integrated Management howitzer.

The Army was building 20 prototypes of the ERCA system: two for destructive testing and the remaining 18 for a battalion.

The operational evaluation of ERCA revealed “engineering challenges,” Bush said a year ago. Observations in early testing of prototypes showed excessive wear on the gun tube after firing a relatively low number of rounds.

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HMAS Vendetta was one of three Daring-class destroyers built for and operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The destroyer was built by Williamstown Naval Dockyard and entered service in 1958.

 

Aerial starboard side view of the Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (R21) and the destroyers HMAS Vendetta (D08) and HMAS Voyager (D04) underway, circa in 1959. On the carrier’s flight deck, two Gannet anti submarine aircraft are spotted forward with another to port abreast the island. Three Sea Venom fighters are spotted aft of the island.

 Strategic Reserve on multiple occasions. In 1965 and 1966, the destroyer undertook deterrence patrols during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. Along with several runs escorting the troop transport HMAS Sydney to South Vietnam, from late 1969 to early 1970 Vendetta was assigned to combat operations and became the only Australian-built warship to serve in a shore bombardment role during the Vietnam War.

The ship underwent a two-year modernisation from 1971 to 1973, and in December 1974 was one of thirteen RAN warships involved in Operation Navy Help Darwin after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. Several more deployments were made to the Far East, up until 1978. In October 1979, the destroyer was decommissioned, and served as a parts hulk for sister ship HMAS Vampire. Vendetta was sold for ship breaking in January 1987.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_Vendetta_(D08)#Websites

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US military ship heading to Gaza to build port

 

The General Frank S Besson is carrying the first load of equipment to build a floating harbour

By Tiffany Wertheimer
BBC News

A US military ship is sailing towards the Middle East, carrying equipment to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, the army says.

The support ship, General Frank S Besson, set sail from a military base in the state of Virginia on Saturday.

It comes after President Joe Biden said the US would build the floating harbour to help get aid into Gaza by sea.

The UN has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is “almost inevitable” and children are starving to death.

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The US and Jordan carried out an airdrop on Sunday, parachuting in more than 11,500 meals that included rice, flour, pasta, and canned food, the US military said.

Aid deliveries by land and air have proved difficult and dangerous.

The World Food Programme had to pause land deliveries after its convoys came under gunfire and looting. And on Friday, there were reports that five people had been killed by a falling aid package, when its parachute failed to open properly.

The US ship departed “less than 36 hours” after Mr Biden made his announcement, US Central Command wrote on X.

It is “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies” to Gaza, the statement continued.

The Pentagon has said it could take up to 60 days to build the pier with the help of 1,000 troops – none of whom would go ashore.

Charities have said those suffering in Gaza cannot wait that long.

Meanwhile, an aid ship laden with some 200 tonnes of food had been expected to set sail from a port in Larnaca, Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, Cypriot media reported.

However as Sunday night ticked into Monday morning, it was still docked in Cyprus.

The charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), which has provided the food aid, told the BBC: “This maritime operation remains a quickly evolving and fluid situation… we plan to embark as soon as possible.”

It follows an EU announcement that a new sea route would be opened over the weekend to allow aid to sail directly from Cyprus – the closest EU country to Gaza.

Picture of a ship with pallets of food in front of itWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN/OPEN ARMS

The Open Arms aid ship has been ready to depart for weeks, the charity’s founder has said

The ship, Open Arms, belongs to the Spanish charity of the same name. Exactly where it plans to dock when it reaches Gaza has not been publicly revealed.

Gaza has no functioning port and its surrounding waters are too shallow for large vessels, but WCK said its team had been building a jetty off the coast to receive the aid.

The charity added that its plans are “not related” to the floating pier the US is aiming to build.

Israel has welcomed the ocean initiative, and said aid would be delivered after security checks were carried out in Cyprus “in accordance with Israeli standards”.

Israel’s military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas’s attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.

More than 30,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says.

The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip – one quarter of the population – are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Western countries have pressed Israel to expand land deliveries by facilitating more routes and opening additional crossings.

Lorries have been entering the south of Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing and the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing. But the north, which was the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive, has been largely cut off from assistance in recent months.

An estimated 300,000 Palestinians are living there with little food or clean water.

Israel has been accused of hampering aid efforts, and an independent UN expert last week accused it of mounting “a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza”.

Yeela Cytrin, a legal adviser at the Israeli mission to the UN, responded that “Israel utterly rejects allegations that it is using starvation as a tool of war”, before walking out in protest.

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Fiji takes delivery of Guardian-class patrol boat

 

Fiji has taken delivery of its second Guardian-class Patrol Boat, the RFNS Puamau, at a handover ceremony at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia.

The Prime Minister of Fiji, the Hon Sitiveni Rabuka received the vessel on behalf of the Government of Fiji.

The RFNS Puamau is the second vessel delivered to Fiji, and the 19th vessel delivered under the Pacific Maritime Security Program – Australia’s 30-year commitment of uninterrupted engagement with our Pacific partners in support of a stable, prosperous and secure region.

“Australia is proud to be Fiji’s security partner of choice. The delivery of the second Guardian-class Patrol Boat today is a tangible demonstration of our Vuvale Partnership,” said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific.

“By enhancing Fiji’s maritime security capabilities, we are more effective in tackling our shared regional challenges together.”

Fiji and Australia are Vuvale – natural partners working together to develop joint responses to emerging regional needs and priorities.

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Fiji welcomes second Guardian Class patrol boat from Australia

https://res.cloudinary.com/momentum-media-group-pty-ltd/image/upload/v1709867901/Defence%20Connect/Guardian_Class_patrol_boat_PSS_President_HI_Remeliik_II_dc_aal9aw.jpg
Fiji welcomes second Guardian Class patrol boat from Australia

The Australian government has transferred a second Guardian Class patrol boat, the RFNS Puamau, to Fiji at an official handover ceremony in Western Australia.

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Applications now ‘well up’ after 10,000 signed up to join British Army in January Julian Perreira 8th March 2024 at 12:01pm

Despite previous recruitment issues, the Earl of Minto told the House of Lords that ‘applications are well up’ (Picture: MOD)

More than 10,000 people applied to join the British Army in January, a defence minister has revealed.

During a debate about military National Service, Timothy Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound The Earl of Minto told the House of Lords that “applications have been well up in the last few months”.

The Conservative peer said: “We had more than 10,000 applications for regular soldiers in January; there were 53,000 applications in the period from June 2021 to 2022 and just shy of 70,000 from June 2022 to 2023”.

* Applications to join Armed Forces rising, with Royal Navy at an eight-year high

* UK Armed Forces numbers drop by almost a third in 23 years, MOD data reveals

* Fact check: Is military conscription really going to happen?

The Earl of Minto went on to say: “My Lords, the way we address the threat is a constantly changing situation.

“Whether through procurement or through individual members of the forces, there is a constant ratio of training, retraining and readdressing the threat.”

He went on to say: “I really believe that we have the right quality of forces in place. We know that we do not have as many as we had planned, and there are some prevalent recruitment issues.

“Encouragingly, applications have been well up in the last few months.”Play VideoWatch: Defence Secretary admits proposed military housing policy is ‘problematic’

The debate on National Service follows on from the head of the British Army’s comments, suggesting that Britain should train and equip a “citizen army” to prepare the country for a potential land war with Russia.

Only last month the Defence Secretary said applications to join the Armed Forces have increased, amid rising tensions around the globe.

Grant Shapps said the Royal Navy had received an eight-year high in applications, while the British Army had seen a six-year high.

He also stated that the Royal Air Force was experiencing an increase in potential recruits.

At the time, Mr Shapps did not put a number on the applications received, but his hopes of “making progress” on recruitment come after warnings that military personnel are leaving faster than they can be replaced.

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Applications now ‘well up’ after 10,000 signed up to join British Army in January Julian Perreira 8th March 2024 at 12:01pm

Despite previous recruitment issues, the Earl of Minto told the House of Lords that ‘applications are well up’ (Picture: MOD)

More than 10,000 people applied to join the British Army in January, a defence minister has revealed.

During a debate about military National Service, Timothy Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound The Earl of Minto told the House of Lords that “applications have been well up in the last few months”.

The Conservative peer said: “We had more than 10,000 applications for regular soldiers in January; there were 53,000 applications in the period from June 2021 to 2022 and just shy of 70,000 from June 2022 to 2023”.

* Applications to join Armed Forces rising, with Royal Navy at an eight-year high

* UK Armed Forces numbers drop by almost a third in 23 years, MOD data reveals

* Fact check: Is military conscription really going to happen?

The Earl of Minto went on to say: “My Lords, the way we address the threat is a constantly changing situation.

“Whether through procurement or through individual members of the forces, there is a constant ratio of training, retraining and readdressing the threat.”

He went on to say: “I really believe that we have the right quality of forces in place. We know that we do not have as many as we had planned, and there are some prevalent recruitment issues.

“Encouragingly, applications have been well up in the last few months.”Play VideoWatch: Defence Secretary admits proposed military housing policy is ‘problematic’

The debate on National Service follows on from the head of the British Army’s comments, suggesting that Britain should train and equip a “citizen army” to prepare the country for a potential land war with Russia.

Only last month the Defence Secretary said applications to join the Armed Forces have increased, amid rising tensions around the globe.

Grant Shapps said the Royal Navy had received an eight-year high in applications, while the British Army had seen a six-year high.

He also stated that the Royal Air Force was experiencing an increase in potential recruits.

At the time, Mr Shapps did not put a number on the applications received, but his hopes of “making progress” on recruitment come after warnings that military personnel are leaving faster than they can be replaced.

http://dlvr.it/T3r7zp

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