The Royal Australian Navy's third Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) was launched into the water for the first time on Friday, October 31.
Like her sisters, the future HMAS Pilbara will have a length of 80 metres, a beam of 13 metres, a draught of four metres, a displacement of 1,640 tonnes, and space for 40 crewmembers and up to 60 additional personnel.
Two diesel engines will deliver a maximum speed of 20 knots and a range of 4,000 nautical miles, ensuring long-endurance patrol capability.
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.
The vessel’s standard armament will consist of a 25mm naval gun fitted on a 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 future Pilbara is being built at the facilities of Civmec Defence Industries in Henderson, Western Australia. Her commissioning is scheduled for 2026.
