Defence has issued a Request for Information to industry on interest in and ability to provide ongoing support to all or part of the RAN’s mine countermeasures systems.

With the vessel now in Australia, and awaiting formal commissioning into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), it’s worth examining what capabilities it offers and how the RAN might employ it.

HMAS Stuart now has a new mast as part of the Anzac class frigate’s mid-life capability upgrade (AMCAP).

Austal USA has been awarded a US$156 million (A$225.5 million) contract option from the US Navy for the construction of two Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ships.

The training will be delivered at the OPV Training Centre at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island and it is expected to take approximately six months for each crew.

The US Navy’s MQ-8C Fire Scout autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platform is set to acquire significant new capabilities under roadmaps drawn up both by Northrop Grumman and the service.

The newest Boeing P-8 maritime patrol, reconnaissance aircraft has taken to the skies over Puget Sound in the US, bringing the total number of P-8s delivered to 150.

Kongsberg has signed an initial contract valued at MNOK 489 (A$71m) with the Commonwealth for a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) capability.

Thales Australia has entered into a collaboration agreement with EXPAL Systems S.A to establish sovereign capability solutions in Australia for large calibre naval munitions and fuses.

The Naval Shipbuilding College is strengthening its support for Australian business workforce requirements by expanding its services to Australian small to medium enterprises.

Little noticed outside defence circles, the Saab 9LV naval combat management system has evolved from its original analogue beginnings to an Australian success story – an advanced CMS up there with the best in the world.

Earlier this year I wrote a piece for the ASPI Strategist arguing that surface combatants have no future in modern high-end warfare – a continuation of an argument I first floated at an ASPI conference a few years ago.

Austal USA has been awarded a contract with a potential value of US$3.3 billion (A$4.35 billion) for the detail design and construction of up to 11 Offshore Patrol Cutters for the United States Coast Guard.

Defence has confirmed a number of defects on the Guardian-class patrol boats gifted to Pacific nations under the Commonwealth’s Pacific Maritime Security Program, including a potential fault in the exhaust system.

BAE Systems Australia has contracted Adelaide-based businesses Novafast International and Century Engineering to manufacture parts to support the Hunter Class Frigate Program’s prototyping phase.

The Rim of the Pacific Exercise or RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.