The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. The Chief of Navy is also jointly responsible to the Minister for Defence (MINDEF) and the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The Department of Defence, which is a part of the Australian Public Service, administers the ADF, and ergo, the Royal Australian Navy. In 2023, the Surface Fleet Review was introduced to outline the future of the Navy.
HMAS Newcastle, named for the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, the largest provincial city in Australia, was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate. The last ship of the class to be constructed, Newcastle entered service with the Royal Australian Navy in 1993. During her career, the frigate has operated as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, served in the Persian Gulf, and responded to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. The frigate was decommissioned on 30 June 2019 and transferred to the Chilean Navy on 15 April 2020 and renamed as Capitán Prat.
HMAS Melbourne (R21) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1955 until 1982, and was the third and final conventional aircraft carrier to serve in the RAN. Melbourne was the only Commonwealth naval vessel to sink two friendly warships in peacetime collisions.
The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held in August. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy's Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
HMAS Stuart was one of six River-class destroyer escorts built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by the Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company at Cockatoo Island Dockyard in 1959, and commissioned into the RAN in 1963.
HMAS Sydney was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The frigate was one of six modified Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates ordered from 1977 onwards, and the third of four to be constructed in the United States of America. Laid down and launched in 1980, Sydney was named for the capital city of New South Wales, and commissioned into the RAN in 1983.
HMAS Hobart was a Perth-class guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States of America to a slight variant of the United States Navy (USN) Charles F. Adams class, she was commissioned into the RAN in 1965. In March 1967, Hobart became the first RAN combat ship deployed to fight in the Vietnam War. This marked the start of consistent six-month deployments to the warzone, which continued until late 1971; Hobart was redeployed in 1969 and 1970. During the 1968 tour, the destroyer was attacked by a United States Air Force aircraft.
HMAS Perth was the lead ship of the Perth-class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in the United States to a modified version of the Charles F. Adams design, Perth entered service with the RAN in 1965.
HMAS Brisbane was one of three Perth-class guided missile destroyers to serve in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The United States-designed ship was laid down at Bay City, Michigan in 1965, launched in 1966 and commissioned into the RAN in 1967. She is named after the city of Brisbane, Queensland.
The Hobart class is a ship class of three air warfare destroyers (AWDs) built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Planning for ships to replace the Adelaide-class frigates and restore the capability last exhibited by the Perth-class destroyers began by 2000, initially under acquisition project SEA 1400, which was re-designated SEA 4000. Although the designation "Air Warfare Destroyer" is used to describe ships dedicated to the defence of a naval force from aircraft and missile attack, the destroyers are expected to also operate in anti-surface, anti-submarine, and naval gunfire support roles.
The Royal Australian Navy, although a significant force in the Asia-Pacific region, is nonetheless classed as a medium-sized navy. Its fleet is based around two main types of surface combatant, with limited global deployment and air power capability. However, in 2009, a white paper, Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, was produced by the Australian government which set out a programme of defence spending that will see significant improvements to the RAN's fleet and capabilities. In recent times, Australia released its Surface Fleet Review in 2024, which analyses the future of the RAN and shows what the Government will procure.
The Adelaide class of six guided missile frigates was constructed in Australia and the United States for service in the Royal Australian Navy. Two were later sold to the Chilean Navy. The Adelaide class was based on the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, but modified for Australian requirements. The first four vessels were built in the United States, and the final two were constructed in Australia. The first ship entered service in November 1980.
The Perth-class destroyers were three modified Charles F. Adams-class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Ordered from Defoe Shipbuilding Company during 1962 and 1963, HMA Ships Perth, Hobart, and Brisbane were the first guided missiled-armed warships, and the first naval ships of United States design, to enter service with the RAN. All three ships operated during the Vietnam War, while Brisbane also participated in the Gulf War. The class was decommissioned between 1999 and 2001, with all three vessels later sunk as dive wrecks.
HMAS Sirius was a commercial tanker purchased by the Royal Australian Navy and converted into a fleet replenishment vessel to replace HMAS Westralia. She was named in honour of HMS Sirius of the First Fleet. Launched in South Korea on 2004, and converted in Western Australia, Sirius was commissioned in 2006; three years before a purpose-built vessel would have been built, and at half the cost. The tanker was decommissioned in 2021 and subsequently scrapped.
USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) is the 62nd ship of the Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers in the United States Navy. She is named for Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy (1976–2005). Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan in June 2005. He was the first sailor awarded the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. The ship's name was announced by Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter on 7 May 2008. The ship was christened on 7 May 2011, Murphy's birthday, by her sponsor Maureen Murphy, Michael Murphy's mother. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 31 of Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific.
HMAS Hobart, named after the city of Hobart, Tasmania, is the lead ship of the Hobart-class air warfare destroyers used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship, based on the Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate designed by Navantia, was built at ASC's shipyard in Osborne, South Australia from modules fabricated by ASC, BAE Systems Australia in Victoria, and Forgacs Group in New South Wales. Hobart was ordered in 2007, but errors and delays in construction caused extensive schedule slippage. Despite commissioning initially planned for December 2014, the ship was not laid down until September 2012, and launched in May 2015. The Department of Defence accepted delivery of HMAS Hobart on 16 June 2017. The ship was commissioned on 23 September 2017.
USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. The destroyer can operate with a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), as an element of a Surface Action Group (SAG), or independently. The ship can conduct a variety of missions in support of national military strategy. From peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, 115 will be capable of carrying out Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), Undersea Warfare (USW), Surface Warfare (SW), and Strike Warfare (STW) in multi-threat environments.
Rear Admiral John Robert Lord, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy who served as Maritime Commander Australia from 1999 to 2000. He later embarked on a corporate career, and is Chairman of Huawei Australia.
HMAS Brisbane, named after the city of Brisbane, Queensland, is the second ship of the Hobart-class air warfare destroyers used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Operation Argos is the Australian Defence Force's contribution to the international effort to enforce United Nations' sanctions against North Korea. The operation began in 2018, and is ongoing. The Australian effort is focused on detecting ship to ship transfers of contraband goods. It involves periodic deployments of aircraft and warships.
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