Friday, July 04, 2008 - 08:06 AM UTC
In December 2003, the Australian Ministry of Defence awarded the prime contract to Defence Maritime Services (DMS) for the supply and support of 12 Armidale Class patrol boats.

The Australian Government subsequently ordered two additional Armidale vessels in June 2006. The patrol boats replace the 15 Freemantle Class large patrol vessels that entered service between 1980 and 1984 and are approaching the end of their operational life.

DMS subcontracted the design and construction of the patrol boats to Austal and they were built at Austal's Henderson ship yard near Freemantle. The $553m contract covers the design, build and supply of the patrol boats and support and maintenance for 15 years. DMS, formed in 1997 by P&O Maritime and Serco Australia, guarantees the availability of the patrol boats at 3,000 patrol days a year.

The construction of the first of class HMAS Armidale (83) began in May 2004. Armidale was launched in January 2005 and entered service in June 2005. The other ships of the class are :HMAS Larrakia (84), commissioned February 2006; HMAS Bathurst (85), commissioned February 2006; HMAS Albany (86), commissioned July 2006: HMAS Pirie (87), commissioned July 2006; HMAS Maitland (88), commissioned September 2006; HMAS Ararat (89), commissioned November 2006; HMAS Broome (90), commissioned February 2007; HMAS Bundaberg (91), commissioned March 2007; HMAS Wollongong (92), commissioned June 2007; HMAS Childers (93), commissioned July 2007; HMAS Launceston (94), commissioned September 2007; HMAS Maryborough (95) commissioned December 2007; and HMAS Glenelg (96), commissioned in February 2008.

The Armidale Class patrol boats are based at the Darwin, Northern Territory and Cairns, Queensland naval bases and are deployed on surveillance, interception and escort missions. Eight patrol boats are based at Darwin and four patrol boats at Cairns.

The boats operate in Australian waters in the northern exclusive economic zone and in latitudes up to 50°. The two additional Armidale Class patrol boats (Maryborough and Glenelg) are separately based in Australia's north west to defend oil and gas assets.


ARMIDALE CONSTRUCTION

The Armidale Class patrol boats are of conventional welded aluminium alloy construction with a semi-displacement vee hull. The design and construction meets the commercial standards of Det Norska Veritas Rules for high-speed light craft and the standards specified in the navy maritime materiel requirements.

The boats have Seastate active ride control with hydraulic stabiliser fins and stern trim tabs. The hull is 56.8m in length and the displacement is 270t.

The stern deck accommodates two Zodiac 7.2m waterjet boats.


PERFORMANCE

The main roles of the Armidale Class are naval support of civilian authorities in missions such as fisheries protection, custom patrols and in protection against illegal immigration. Missions are expected to be typically of 21 days duration. At a cruise speed of 12kt, the patrol boats have a range of 3,000nm with a fuel reserve of 20%.

The boats, which operate with a crew of 21, will be multi-crewed allowing a high annual usage. There is accommodation for 20 additional crew members.

The requirement specification for the vessels included the ability to carry out surveillance and boarding missions in conditions up to sea state 4 with 2.5m wave height and surveillance missions in conditions up to sea state 5 with 4m wave height. The Armidale Class is capable of surviving cyclonic conditions. The requirement specification outlined the capability to carry out 42-day missions between resupplies with a range up to 3,000 nautical miles.

The trials have proven the boats' sea-keeping characteristics in high sea states which exceed the performance requirements.


ARMIDALE CLASS WEAPONS

The vessel is armed with a Rafael Typhoon 25mm stabilised naval gun mount with an ATK Bushmaster cannon. Fire control is provided by a Rafael Toplite multi-sensor optronic weapons director. The gun has a traverse range of
+/-120° and an elevation of -12.5° to +40°30'. The gun has a stabilisation accuracy of 0.2mrad.

The line of fire stabilisation allows hostile targets to be engaged with precision in high sea state conditions and at appropriate stand-off distance. The gunner can choose to operate the gun manually or automatically. The ship also carries two 12.7mm machine guns.


SENSORS AND COMMUNICATIONS

The Armidale Class patrol boats are equipped with low-light optical surveillance and a Bridgemaster E radar operating at E, F and I bands.

BAE Systems Australia's passive radar identification system (PRISM III) electronic support measures provides detection, direction finding, analysis and classification of radar emissions in the 2GHz-18GHz band.

CEA Technologies has been contracted to supply the modular integrated ships communications suite (ISCS).


PROPULSION

The Armidale class boat is fitted with two MTU 16V 2,320kW diesel engines with ZF transmission systems, driving twin screws. In 2007, the fuel system design was modified with the addition of coalescers to prevent water contamination of the fuel system. There is a 160kW bow thruster.



Specifications - Armidale Class Patrol Boat, Australia

Crew-21
Additional Accommodation-20
Length-56.8m
Beam-9m
Draft-3 m
Displacement-270t
Speed-25kt
Economical Speed-12kt
Range at 12kt-3,000nm

Propulsion
Type 2 × MTU 4000 16V diesels
Power 4.64MW
Shafts-2

Weapons
Main Armament-1 × 25mm Rafael M242 Bushmaster gun
Secondary Armament-2 × 12.7mm machine guns



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Comments

Hey Gunny, nice article. Is anyone building a model??? I wanted to do a 1/25 or maybe 1/50, and started drawing some plans etc, but I can't get any below water line detail.
JUL 11, 2008 - 11:35 AM
Ahoy Sean, Welcome to Modelshipwrights! Well mate, as far as a commercial kit, I wouldn't expect to see one in this subject variant, and no-one here at MSW has reported a scratch-build going (but it would be a great subject to build, either way)...I haven't seen any commercial plans available yet for the vessel, but you may have a better access down in the land of Oz, my friend than most....keep us posted, please! Cheers, ~Gunny
JUL 11, 2008 - 01:29 PM
Gunny, Thanks for the welcome. I actually am an Austal shareholder, and still cant get a copy of the plans. Been trying for several years, hence trying to draw them up myself. I did hear a rumour that someone managed to get hold of a set here in Oz, but they haven't been released as far as I know. At work we are getting a couple of 24m Aluminium cats built by Austal, so it is now a toss-up. The cats would be awesome, but the Armidale would be sleeker.
JUL 11, 2008 - 09:55 PM
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Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • 14 Armidale Class patrol boats have been commissioned into the Royal Austra
    14 Armidale Class patrol boats have been commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy.
  • The Armidale vessels are multi-crewed (more crews than boats), resulting in
    The Armidale vessels are multi-crewed (more crews than boats), resulting in overall higher usage of the boats.
  • HMAS Maryborough (95) in Sydney harbour.
    HMAS Maryborough (95) in Sydney harbour.
  • At a cruise speed of 12kt, the Armidale boats have a range of 3,000nm.
    At a cruise speed of 12kt, the Armidale boats have a range of 3,000nm.
  • The main roles of the Armidale Class are surveillance and the apprehension;
    The main roles of the Armidale Class are surveillance and the apprehension; and escort to port of vessels suspected of illegal fisheries, customs or immigration offences.
  • HMAS Armidale conducting trials in Cockburn Sound, Rockingham, Western Aust
    HMAS Armidale conducting trials in Cockburn Sound, Rockingham, Western Australia.
  • HMAS Maryborough (95) was commissioned December 2007
    HMAS Maryborough (95) was commissioned December 2007
  • First of Class, HMAS Armidale (83) was commissioned in June 2005.
    First of Class, HMAS Armidale (83) was commissioned in June 2005.
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