The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) commissioned its newest offshore patrol vessel (OPV) into service on Saturday, June 28.
HMAS Arafura is the first of class vessel delivered under project SEA 1180. The OPV was built by Luerssen Australia at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.
The SEA 1180 project will deliver six Arafura-class OPVs to the RAN, with the first two constructed at Osborne. The remaining four vessels are under construction at Henderson in Western Australia.
The OPV’s design will permit the installation of specialist mission packages, such as a maritime tactical unmanned aerial system. In the future, rapid environmental assessment and deployable mine countermeasures capabilities will be integrated to further expand the ship’s existing multi-mission capability.
Arafura's standard armament consists of a Northrop Grumman M242 Bushmaster 25mm naval gun fitted on a Rafael Typhoon stabilised mount and two 12.7mm heavy machine guns. The all-gun armament is ideal for low-intensity maritime security missions such as offshore and littoral patrols, maritime border protection, anti-terrorism missions, and anti-piracy missions.
The Arafura-class ships will help patrol and secure Australia’s maritime border alongside the RAN's Evolved Cape-class patrol boats. They may also be employed for humanitarian and disaster relief.