| may 2017 |^21
NAVAL
directoryAustrAliA
■ Royal austRalian navy
ship type number in service
‘ANZAC’ class frigate 8. Currently undergoing mid-life
capability assurance programme
upgrades.
‘Adelaide’ class frigate 3
‘Hobart’ class destroyer Three under construction to
replace the ‘Adelaide’ class.
HMAS Hobart is scheduled for
delivery in June 2017, HMAS
Brisbane in September 2018 and
HMAS Sydney in March 2020.
‘Armidale’ class offshore patrol boat 12. HMAS Bundaberg
decommissioned in December
2014 after serious fire damage.
‘Cape’ class offshore patrol boat Two temporarily assigned from
the Australian Border Force.
‘Huon’ class mine countermeasures vessel 6
‘Collins’ class conventional hunter-killer 6. Thales to carry out a major
submarine sonar system upgrade.
‘Leeuwin’ class hydrographic ship 2
‘Paluma’ class survey 4
‘Bay’ class dock landing ship 1
‘Durance’ class replenishment vessel 1
‘Sirius’ class replenishment vessel 1
‘Cantabria’ class replenishment vessel Two under construction in Spain
to replace the ‘Durance’ and
‘Sirius’ classes.
Aviation training vessel One under construction in
Vietnam, based on Damen ‘Sigma’
class frigate.
Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper, which outlines government defence
spending and strategic priorities, states that: “While there is no more than a
remote prospect of military attack by another country on Australian territory
in the foreseeable future, our strategic planning is not limited to defending
our borders (but) recognises the regional and global nature of Australia’s
strategic interests and the different sets of challenges created by the behaviours
of countries and non-state actors.” In this context, the Royal Australian Navy
(RAN) is undergoing a number of significant modernisation programmes
to ensure that its fleet is capable of meeting regional security challenges
ranging from the increasing assertiveness of the People’s Republic of China
in the East and South China Seas (please see the introduction to this directory), to
environmental disasters across the region.
For example, in April 2016 DCNS was selected to build twelve conventional
hunter-killer submarines (SSKs), based on the French Navy’s forthcoming
‘Barracuda’ class nuclear-powered attack submarine, to replace the RAN’s
existing ‘Collins’ class SSKs. Meanwhile, under the Australian Department of
Defence’s (DOD) Sea 1180 initiative, twelve Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) are
to be constructed, to replace the ‘Armidale’ OPVs, the ‘Huon’ class mine
countermeasures vessels, the ‘Leeuwin’ class hydrographic survey ships and
the ‘Paluma’ class of hydrographic survey launches. Damen, Fassmer and
Lürssen are offering competing designs. Regarding larger surface combatants,
nine new frigates are to replace the ‘ANZAC’ class, with a choice to be made
between designs tendered by BAE Systems, Fincantieri and Navantia, as part
Fincantieri’s ‘Bergamini’ class frigate is in service with the Italian
Navy, and is one of three contenders under the RAN’s project to
replace the ‘ANZAC’ class. The government should make a decision
on the final design in 2018.Wikimedia Commonsof the DOD’s Sea 5000 programme. Finally, two underway replenishment
vessels are now under construction by Navantia in Spain, and are due in
service in the early 2020s, according to the RAN.BAnglAdesh
■ Bangladeshi navy
ship type number in service
‘Ulsan’ class frigate 1
‘Jianghu-II’ class frigate 1
‘Hamilton’ class frigate 2
‘Jianghu-III’ class frigate 2
‘Ming’ class conventional hunter- 2. Received in November 2016.
killer submarine
‘Castle’ class corvette 2
‘Durjoy’ class corvette 2, plus one locally built launched
in December 2016 and one under
construction.
‘Type-056’ class corvette 2, plus two under construction
‘Island’ class offshore patrol vessel 5
‘Sea Dragon’ class offshore patrol vessel 1
‘Padma’ class offshore patrol vessel 5
‘X12’ class fast attack craft Eight being constructed in
Bangladesh
‘Type-024’ class fast attack craft 5
‘Type-021’ class fast attack craft 4
‘Kraljevica’ class patrol boat 2
‘Type-062-1’ class patrol boat 1
‘Type-037’ class patrol boat 1
‘Type-062’ class patrol boat 4
‘Type-021’ class patrol boat 1
‘Chamsuri’ class patrol boat 4
‘Meghna’ class patrol boat 2
‘Roebuck’ class hydrographic ship 1
‘Agradoot’ class hydrographic ship 1
‘Type-010’ class mine 1
countermeasures vessel
‘Khan Jahan Ali’ class 1
replenishment tanker
‘River’ class mine countermeasures vessel 4
‘Island’ class training ship 1
‘Yuchin’ class mechanised landing craft 5The ‘Durjoy’ class corvette, two of which are still under construction in
Bangladesh, resembles the ‘Type 056’ corvettes currently in service with
the PLAN, suggesting the former is a scaled-down version of the latter.Wikimedia CommonsThe indigenously-built tanker Khan Jahan Ali, commissioned in
September 2015, gives the Bangladesh Navy a modern underway
replenishment capability. The Bangladesh government received two ‘Ming’
class conventional hunter-killer submarines, to be used mainly for training,
from the People’s Republic of China in 2016. In the surface domain, a total
of six ‘Durjoy’ and eight ‘Type-056’ class corvettes are planned. Meanwhile,
the eight ‘X12’ class fast attack craft being built domestically are based on the
Indonesian derivative of the Dockstavarvet Combat Boat 90 design. Finally,
reports that three Royal Navy ‘River’ class OPVs (Offshore Patrol Vessels) are
to be transferred to Bangladesh from 2018 remain unconfirmed.Brunei-dArussAlAm
■ Royal BRunei navy
ship type number in service
‘Darussalam’ class offshore patrol vessel 4
‘Itjihad’ class inshore patrol vessel 4
‘TBD’ class fast attack craft 1
‘Serasa’ class mechanised landing craft 2
‘Teraban’ class utility landing craft 2
‘Bendeharu’ class inshore patrol vessel 3
PDB 0-1’ class inshore patrol vessel 11