NAVIES – AUSTRALIA

Chinese expose navy’s chronic decline

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Feb-25

Analysis shows that the Royal Australian Navy has retired 14 surface ships from service since the federal government took office in May 2022. Four new patrol boats have been added to the navy’s fleet over this period, and the navy now has just 25 surface vessels. Former rear admiral Rowan Moffitt says the navy is in "serious, accelerating and chronic decline", although he emphasises that this has been developing for more than two decades. The strength of the nation’s defence force has been under scrutiny in the wake of revelations that the Chinese navy has conducted live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea.

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ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY

Labor’s drone ship gamble

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Feb-24

The federal government will increase its spending on defence to 2.4 per cent of GDP from the early 2030s, in response to the review of the navy’s surface fleet. The government will increase defence spending by $1.7bn over the four-year forward estimates period and $11.1bn over the next decade. Amongst other things, the government will fast-track the acquisition of 11 new general purpose frigates, while the Hunter-class project will be scaled back from nine frigates to just six. The navy will also retire the first of the ageing Anzac-class frigates immediately, while a second will be decommissioned by 2026. The government will invest in a fleet of semi-autonomous ships that are still being developed in the US; these ‘drone’ ships will each have 32 missile cells, significantly increase the navy’s firepower.

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ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY

Spend more on Defence now, PM told

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Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Feb-24

The review of the Australian navy’s surface fleet is expected to recommend acquiring a fleet of warships that are smaller and more heavily armed than the Hunter-class frigates. However, naval expert Jennifer Parker says this will require allocating additional spending on defence in the federal government’s budget in May. She adds that scaling back the Hunter-class program will not in itself generate sufficient cost savings to finance a new fleet of warships. The findings of the review that was undertaken by retired US admiral William Hilarides will be released today.

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ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY