Australian shipbuilder Austal has launched the first Evolved Cape-class patrol boat slated for the Australian Border Force (ABF).
The vessel is one of six Evolved Cape-class boats that Austal is building for the ABF. Ten examples of the class are already in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Austal had also earlier delivered eight of the baseline Cape-class patrol boats to the ABF between 2012 and 2015. These were followed by additional vessels delivered to the RAN in 2017, and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard in 2021.
The Evolved Cape-class design features expanded accommodation for up to 32 personnel. The boats will support a wide range of constabulary missions.
Like their baseline Cape-class predecessors, the Evolved Cape-class boats were built for sustained operations lasting a maximum of 28 days or covering a range of 4,000 nautical miles in conditions up to Sea State four. In RAN service, the newer vessels have retained the original Capes' standard armament of two pintle-mounted 12.7mm machine guns.
Construction of the new ABF Evolved Cape-class boats is ongoing at Austal’s Henderson shipyard in Western Australia.