Australia joined a US-led coalition in its 2003 Iraq invasion. Declassified documents reveal that the decision to go to war was taken primarily with a view to enhancing its alliance with the United States.
The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015-2021).
HMAS Parramatta is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of ten warships built for the RAN and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) based on the MEKO 200 design, Parramatta was laid down in 1999, launched in 2003, and commissioned into the RAN in 2003. During her career, the frigate has been deployed to the Middle East on several occasions. In early 2015, Parramatta was docked to undergo the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade. She completed these upgrades in April 2016.
HMAS Stuart is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was built at Williamstown in Victoria, and commissioned into the RAN in 2002. The frigate is operational as of 2021.
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 Anzac is the lead ship of the Anzac-class frigates in use with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Entering Australian service in 1996, the frigate operated as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce in 1999. In 2003, she was involved in the Battle of Al Faw, and became the first RAN ship to fire in anger since the Vietnam War. The ship is operational as of 2021.
HMAS Arunta is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship, named for the Arrernte people, was laid down in 1995 and commissioned in 1998. Since entering service, Arunta has performed a wide range of duties, including border protection patrols in northern Australian waters, and several deployments to the Persian Gulf.
HMAS Toowoomba is the seventh Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was laid down in 2002 by Tenix Defence and commissioned in 2005.
HMAS Warramunga is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of ten frigates built for the Australian and New Zealand navies, Warramunga was laid down by Tenix Defence in 1997 and commissioned in 2001. During her career, the frigate has operated in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Catalyst, and undertaken anti-piracy operations off Somalia. Warramunga underwent the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade during 2014. She is active as of October 2022.
HMAS Ballarat is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The frigate was laid down in 2000 and commissioned into the RAN in mid-2004. Since entering service, Ballarat has been involved in border protection as part of Operation Relex II, was deployed to the Gulf for Operation Catalyst, and was one of the two ships involved in the Operation Northern Trident 2009 round-the-world voyage. Ballarat has undergone the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade, completing in 2015.
HMAS Melbourne was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy, which entered service in 1992. Melbourne has been deployed to the Persian Gulf on several occasions, and served as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce in 2000. On 26 October 2019, Melbourne was decommissioned from the RAN, subsequently being transferred to Chile. The ship was commissioned into the Chilean Navy as Almirante Latorre on 15 April 2020.
HMAS Canberra was an Adelaide class guided missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class design, Canberra was one of four Adelaide class ships constructed in the United States of America, and one of six to serve in the RAN.
HMAS Kanimbla was a Kanimbla-class landing platform amphibious ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally built for the United States Navy (USN) as the Newport-class tank landing shipUSS Saginaw (LST-1188), the ship was decommissioned in 1994 and sold to the RAN.
HMAS Manoora was a Kanimbla-class landing platform amphibious ship operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally built for the United States Navy (USN) as the Newport-class tank landing shipUSS Fairfax County (LST-1193), the ship was decommissioned in 1994 and sold to the RAN.
Australia was a member of the international coalition which contributed military forces to the 1991 Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm. More than 1,800 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were deployed to the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to September 1991, while contingents from the Royal Australian Navy circulated through the region in support of the sanctions against Iraq until November 2001. In August 1990, two frigates HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin and the replenishment ship HMAS Success left for the Persian Gulf. HMAS Success had no air defences, so the Army 16th Air Defence Regiment was embarked. On 3 December 1990, HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Sydney (IV) relieved HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin. On 26 January 1991, HMAS Westralia replaced HMAS Success. A Navy clearance diving team was also deployed for explosive ordnance disposal and demolition tasks. Australian ships were in danger of sea mines and possible air attacks. In a number of recorded incidents, HMAS Brisbane encountered free floating mines, on one occasion narrowly avoiding a collision. Both HMA Ships Brisbane and Sydney encountered significant air threat warnings from Iran and Iraq throughout the initial period of the commencement of the Desert Storm Campaign. The detection of land based Silkworm anti-ship missiles from Iran throughout the campaign also added to the challenges for both crews as well as the multi-national Naval Forces.
The history of the Royal Australian Navy traces the development of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788. Until 1859, vessels of the Royal Navy made frequent trips to the new colonies. In 1859, the Australia Squadron was formed as a separate squadron and remained in Australia until 1913. Until Federation, five of the six Australian colonies operated their own colonial naval force, which formed on 1 March 1901 the Australian Navy's (AN) Commonwealth Naval Force which received Royal patronage in July 1911 and was from that time referred to as Royal Australian Navy (RAN). On 4 October 1913 the new replacement fleet for the foundation fleet of 1901 steamed through Sydney Heads for the first time.
Rear Admiral Nigel Stephen Coates, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy.
Rear Admiral Marcus Frederick Bonser, is a retired flag rank officer of the Royal Australian Navy. His final posting was as Head of the Military Justice Implementation Team for the Australian Defence Force.
Vice Admiral Raymond James Griggs, is an Australian senior public servant and a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He served as Chief of Navy from June 2011 to June 2014, before being appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Force until his transfer to the reserve in July 2018.
Vice Admiral Stuart Campbell Mayer, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy. He joined the navy via the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell in 1984 and qualified as a Principal Warfare Officer in 1994. He commanded HMAS Canberra (2002–04), HMAS Anzac (2007–09) and the International Stabilisation Force (2009–10), and deployed on operations to the Persian Gulf, East Timor, and the Arabian Sea during the Iraq War. He served as Commander Australian Fleet from 2014 to 2018, Head Force Design within the Vice Chief of Defence Force Group from 2018 to 2019, and Deputy Commander United Nations Command, based in South Korea, from 2019 to 2021. He retired from the navy in 2022 and was appointed a partner in Ernst & Young's consulting division.
