 HMASYarra in 2013 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Australian Defence Industries |
| Operators |  Royal Australian Navy |
| Preceded by | |
| Built | 1994–2003 |
| In commission | 1999–present |
| Completed | 6 |
| Active | 2 |
| Retired | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minehunter Coastal |
| Displacement | 732 tons at full load |
| Length | 52.5 m (172 ft) |
| Beam | 9.9 m (32 ft) |
| Draught | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Endurance | 19 days |
| Complement | 6 officers and 34 sailors, plus up to 9 additional |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
|
| Armament |
|
TheHuon-class minehunter coastal (MHC) ships are a group ofminehunters built for theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN). Following problems with theBay-class minehunters, arequest for tender was issued in 1993 for a class of six coastal minehunters under the project designationSEA 1555. The tender was awarded in 1994 to the partnership ofAustralian Defence Industries (ADI) andIntermarine SpA, which was offering a variant of the ItalianGaeta-class minehunter.
Five of the six ships were constructed completely inNewcastle, New South Wales, while the hull of the first ship was built in Italy, then transported to Australia for fitting out. Construction ran from 1994 to 2003, with lead shipHMAS Huon entering service in 1999. All six vessels are based atHMAS Waterhen, in Sydney. In 2006, following a capability review three years prior, one minehunter was placed in reserve, while another was marked for transfer to reserve status; this instruction was reversed prior to 2008, and the two vessels were tasked with supporting border protection operations. Two of the minehunters were decommissioned in 2018.
In 1993, the Department of Defence issued a request for tender for six coastal minehunters to replace the problematicBay-class minehunters,[1] of which four had been cancelled after the first two demonstrated problems with their sonar array and seakeeping capability. According to an article inJane's International Defence Review published just before the tender was opened, three joint ventures between an Australian and a European company were expected to submit designs:Australian Defence Industries (ADI) andIntermarine SpA with theGaeta class,Australian Submarine Corporation and Karlskronavarvet (laterKockums) with a lengthened version of theLandsort class, andAMECON andVosper Thornycroft with theSandown class.[1] According to the request for tender, the designs had to be modified to operate in Australian conditions, and at least 60% of each ship and her equipment had to be of Australian manufacture.[1] On 12 August 1994, Project SEA 1555 was awarded to ADI.[2][3]
The design of theHuon class is based on the ItalianLerici class; specifically the second run of eight ships known as theGaeta class.[4] Each ship has a full load displacement of 732 tons (slightly greater than theGaetas), is 52.5 metres (172 ft) long, has a beam of 9.9 metres (32 ft), and a draught of 3 metres (9.8 ft).[5] The minehunters' main propulsion system is a single Fincantieri GMT BL230-BN diesel motor, which provides 1,985 brake horsepower (1,480 kW) to a singlecontrollable-pitch propeller, allowing the ship to reach 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[2] Maximum range is 1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), and the vessels have an endurance of 19 days.[5][2] The standard ship's company consists of 6 officers and 34 sailors, with accommodation for 9 additional (typically trainees orclearance divers).[5] The main armament on aHuon-class vessel is a MSI DS30B 30 mm cannon; this is supplemented by two 0.50 calibre machine guns.[2] The sensor suite includes a Kelvin-Hughes Type 1007 navigational radar, a GEC-Marconi Type 2093M variable-depth minehunting sonar, an AWADI PRISM radar warning and direction-finding system, and a Radamec 1400N surveillance system.[5] Two WallopSuper Barricade decoy launchers are also fitted.[5]
For minehunting operations, theHuons use three 120 horsepower (89 kW) Riva Calzoniazimuth thrusters to provide a maximum speed of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph): two are located at the stern, while the third is sited behind the variable-depth sonar.[2] Mines are located with the minehunting sonar, and can be disposed of by the vessel's twoDouble Eagle mine disposal vehicles, the Oropesa mechanical sweep, the Mini-Dyad magnetic influence sweep, or the towed AMASS influence sweep (which is not always carried).[2] To prevent damage in the event aHuon-class ship triggers a mine, the ships were built with aglass-reinforced plastic, moulded in a singlemonocoque skin with no ribs or framework.[2] As the ships often work with clearance divers, they are fitted with a smallrecompression chamber.[5]
SixHuon-class ships were built; all were named afterfamous Australian rivers (the names of which had been carried by previous RAN vessels).[2] The hull of the lead ship,HMAS Huon, was laid down during September 1994 at theIntermarine SpA Sarzana shipyard in Italy, and was transferred out to ADI's Newcastle facility as deck cargo, arriving on 31 August 1995.[5]Huon was completed in Newcastle in 1999, and the other five ships were constructed completely at the Australian shipyard, with 69% Australian content in the project.[5] All six were completed on schedule, with the last,HMAS Yarra, commissioning on 1 March 2003.[2][6]
All six vessels are based atHMAS Waterhen, which serves as the home base of the Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Group.[6] As part of the force structure changes arising from the 2003 Defence Capability Review twoHuon-class ships were deactivated and placed in reserve.[7] HMASHuon was deactivated in early 2006,[8] but was reactivated later in the year, while HMASHawkesbury's planned deactivation was cancelled so the ships could be used as patrol boats.[9]
Apart from routine service in Australian and regional waters, a number of vessels were deployed to theSolomon Islands as part of the Australian-ledRAMSI peacekeeping mission there.[10] Operating as part ofOperation Anode from 2003, vessels deployed have includedHawkesbury,Diamantina,Yarra andGascoyne.[11] As of 2008,Huon andHawkesbury were taking turns supporting border security operations.[6] However, by October 2011Hawkesbury andNorman were placed intoreserve; the Department of Defence predicted that it would take five years to bring both back to operational status and train enough personnel to run all six vessels.[12] Both minehunters were decommissioned on 31 October 2018.[13]
Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, the 2009Department of Defencewhite paper, proposed replacing theHuons, along with the RAN's patrol and hydrographic vessels, with a single class of multi-roleoffshore combatant vessels (OCVs).[14][15] The new vessels, which coulddisplace up to 2,000 tonnes and be equipped for helicopter orunmanned aerial vehicle operations, will use amodular mission payload system to change between roles as required.[14][16][17][15] Although the 2013 White Paper committed to the OCV as a long-term plan, it announced that life-extending upgrades to theHuons would be sought as a short-term solution.[18] In 2020, theRoyal Australian Navy announced that the Huon class may be replaced with a modified version of theArafura-class offshore patrol vessel.[19]
| Ship name | Hull number | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huon | M 82 | 15 May 1999 | Decommissioned 30 May 2024[20] |
| Hawkesbury | M 83 | 12 February 2000 | Decommissioned 31 October 2018. Offered for sale as of 2018[13][21] and sold to be converted to a superyacht[22] |
| Norman | M 84 | 26 August 2000 | Decommissioned 31 October 2018. Offered for sale as of 2018[13][23] and sold to be converted to a superyacht[24] |
| Gascoyne | M 85 | 2 June 2001 | Decommissioned 5 December 2024[25] |
| Diamantina | M 86 | 4 May 2002 | Active[26] |
| Yarra | M 87 | 1 March 2003 | Active[27] |
