Australia launches second of six Evolved Cape-class patrol boat

 

The 2nd Evolved Cape-class patrol boat during its launch. Photo c/o Austal.

Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd. has launched the second Evolved Cape-class patrol boat bound for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The launching took place at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia on 4 March 2022, in the presence of Australian Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie MP, and Austal Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg.

The boat, with hull number 315, is the second of six boats ordered by the Australian Department of Defence under a A$324 million contract with Austal Ltd. on May 2020.

It will undergo final fitting and testing before delivery to the RAN later this year.

The first boat was launched last October 2021, and is scheduled to be delivered to the RAN by March 2022. Four more ships are in different levels of construction, and are scheduled to be delivered at a four-month interval up until 2023.

The Evolved Cape-class patrol boats, together with the upcoming Arufara-class offshore patrol vessels, will be replacing the RAN’s fleet of Armidale-class patrol boats and will be used for border and fisheries protection, maritime law enforcement, and maritime defense missions.

The local construction of the new boats also provide long term direct and indirect jobs to thousands of Australians, and supporting the Australian defense and shipbuilding industry, and the country’s economy.

[1] Austal Ltd

[2] Defence Connect

[3] Naval Today