Guardian-class patrol boat

Class overview
Name: Guardian class
Builders: Austal
Operators: 13 nations
Preceded by: Pacific class
Built: 2018–present
Planned: 21
General characteristics
Type: Patrol boat
Length: 39.5 m (130 ft)
Beam: 8 m (26 ft)
Draft: 2.5 ft (0.76 m)
Propulsion: 2 × Caterpillar 3516C diesels, 2 shafts
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range: 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 23

The Guardian-class patrol boats are a class of small patrol vessels designed and built in Australia for small Pacific Ocean countries.[1][2]

The class is designed to be updated replacements for the Pacific Forum-class patrol boats provided to its allies from 1987 to 1997.[1][3][4][5][6][7] Australia provided twenty-two Pacific Forum vessels to twelve nations. They were designed to use commercial off the shelf components, to make them easier to maintain for the small nations that would operate them. Australia stood ready to help with training and maintenance, during the duration of the program, because Australia's external security issues were eased if it could count on its sovereign neighbours having resources to police their own external security.

Austal was commissioned to build 19 Guardian-class boats in 2016.[8][9] Austal's contract allows it to market the design to additional customers.[10] Subsequently, an additional two vessels were ordered for Timor-Leste, scheduled for delivery in late 2023.

Roles

Like the class of vessels they will replace, these small vessels will allow Australia's small neighbours to patrol their own economic zones. They will be able to control smuggling, unregulated fishing, and perform search and rescue duties.[9][11] The Guardian class will be slightly larger, will have better sea-keeping capabilities, and their electronics suite will be up to date.

Design

The Australian government called for submission in March 2015.[9][11] Five consortiums submitted designs for the class.[12] Austal was chosen as the contractor in April 2016.

The vessels will be 39.5 metres (130 ft) long, capable of traveling 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h), with a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h).[1] They will be designed to berth a complement of 23 crew members. They will have a stern launching ramp for a pursuit boat. Austal will deliver the vessels without armament, but they were designed to be capable of mounting an autocannon of up to 30 millimetres (1.2 in) on their foredeck, and a heavy machine gun on either side of their bridge.

The vessels twin diesel engines can provide 4,000 kilowatts (5,400 shp).[9] Sophisticated electronic engine controls will help conserve fuel.

One of the main deck staterooms, a stateroom with two bunks, is equipped with separate ventilation, so it can be used as an infirmary for infectious patients.[13]

Delivery

The keel of the first vessel was laid in July 2017.[14] That vessel is scheduled to be delivered to Papua New Guinea in October 2018.[15][16] New vessels are scheduled to be completed every three months.[17][18][19]

Austal's contract contains provisions to provide maintenance support to the client states, for seven years, out of its Cairns facility.[9]

Disposition of Guardian class boats[11][20]
imagenamecustomerdeliverycommissioningretirementnotes
HMPNGS Ted Diro (P401)Papua New Guinealate October 2018[15][16][21]
Samoa2019-08
  • The vessl's crew may contain both men and women.[27]
Palau2019[28]
Tonga2019[29]
Solomon Islands2019
Fiji2020-03[31]
  • Fiji will receive two vessels.[20]
Tonga2021[29]
Vanuatu2021[32]
Solomon Islands2022-3
  • Solomon Islands will receive two vessels.[20]
  • The second vessel will replace RSIPV Auki.[30]
Papua New Guinea
  • Papua New Guinea will receive a total of four vessels.[22]
Fiji
  • Fiji will receive two vessels.[20]
Cook Islands
Tuvalu
Kiribati
Republic of Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
  • Federated States of Micronesia will receive two vessels.[20]
Federated States of Micronesia
  • Federated States of Micronesia will receive two vessels.[20]
Timor-Leste2023[33][34]
  • Timor-Leste will receive two vessels.[20]
Timor-Leste2023[33][34]
  • Timor-Leste will receive two vessels.[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Austal Pacific Patrol Boat 40" (PDF). Austal. Retrieved 2018-01-21. Austal will design, construct and deliver the 19 steel-hulled patrol boats (valued at $280 million) to 12 Pacific Island nations. The contract includes an option for two additional vessels.
  2. ↑ "2016 Defence White Paper". Australian Navy. 2016. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  3. ↑ "Maritime security strengthened through Pacific Patrol Boat Program" (Press release). Australian Government: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence. 17 June 2014. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Brenda Nicholson (5 March 2015). "Patrol boat orders to save shipbuilding industry". The Australian. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Dave Morley (3 December 2015). "Replacement Program". Navy News. Royal Australian Navy. p. 9. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Prime Minister and Minister for Defence - Continuous Naval Shipbuilding". Department of Defence (Press release). 18 April 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. ↑ "Minister for Defence - Contract signed for replacement Pacific Patrol Boats". Department of Defence (Press release). 4 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  8. ↑ Daniel Newell (2017-11-05). "Austal set to book extra patrol boat orders for Timor-Leste". The West Australian. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Austal Pacific Patrol Boat 40". Naval Technology. Retrieved 2018-01-21. Under the contract, Austal will offer support services to the replacement patrol boats initially for seven years.
  10. ↑ "Austal approaches completion of Cape class and starts work on PPB-R project". The Royal Institution of Naval Architects. July–August 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-21. Austal is currently pursuing export opportunities for variations of the Bay class, Cape class and Guardian class (Pacific) patrol boats, for customers in the Middle East and Asia.
  11. 1 2 3 "Australia to build 21 patrol boats for its neighbors". Marine Log. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2018-01-21. At a press conference announcing the program, Rear Admiral Mark Purcell, the head of Maritime Systems Division at Australia's Defence Materiel Organisation, noted that the key requirements for these vessels are to be designed and constructed to commercial standards; simple and cost-effective to own, operate and maintain.
  12. ↑ "SEA 3036 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement". 2015-12-09. Retrieved 2018-01-21. The SEA 3036 Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) program involves the acquisition and support of up to 21 new vessels to replace a fleet of Pacific-class patrol boats gifted to 12 Pacific Island nations between 1987 and 1997.
  13. ↑ "Australia's Defence Engagement in the Pacific: 2016 Defence White Paper". Australian Government. 2016. Retrieved 2018-01-21. The Pacific Patrol Boats are gifted by Australia as sovereign assets, and have enabled Pacific Island countries to take an active role in securing their own borders and resources – to the benefit of the region overall. The PPBs are used to undertake a wide range of tasks, from fisheries enforcement, to Search and rescue, to movement of ballot boxes.
  14. ↑ Gemma Whiting (July 2017). "Austal celebrated ceremonional keel laying of first Pacific Patrol Boat". Austal. Retrieved 2018-01-21. Minister Pyne authenticated the keel by committing his signature to a plate that was subsequently welded and placed in the hull of the vessel.
  15. 1 2 Minister for Defence Industry (31 July 2017). "Pacific Patrol Boat Milestone". Department of Defence (Press release). Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  16. 1 2 Alix Valenti (21 December 2016). "PNGDF Plans Expansion". Asian Military Review. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  17. ↑ Amelia McMahon (2018-05-30). "The first of 21 Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boats to be designed and built by Austal has been launched". Defence Connect. Retrieved 2018-06-01. Construction of the second and third boats is underway, with new boats scheduled to be delivered at approximately three-month intervals from late 2018 until 2023.
  18. ↑ "Austal launches first Guardian class Pacific Patrol Boat". Marine Log. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-06-01. Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) today announced the first of 21 Guardian Class, Pacific Patrol Boats (PPB-R) has been launched just two years after the contract was awarded, keeping with the schedule and budget for the project. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea in late October 2018.
  19. ↑ "First Guardian-class PPB-R launched for delivery to Papua New Guinea - Naval Technology". Naval Technology. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-06-01. 'This particular boat will be gifted to Papua New Guinea in late-October 2018 and is the first of 21 boats to be gifted to 12 Pacific Island countries and East Timor as part of the Pacific Maritime Security Program.'
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Timor Leste's future Patrol Boats". Monch Publishing Group. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-04-22. The PICS will receive their new patrol boats as follows: Cook Islands (1 vessel); Federated States of Micronesia (2 vessels); Fiji (2 vessels); Kiribati (1 vessel); Palau (1 vessel); Papua New Guinea (4 vessels); Republic of the Marshall Islands (1 vessel); Samoa (1 vessel); Solomon Islands (2 vessels); Timor Leste (2 vessels); Tonga (2 vessels); Tuvalu (1 vessel); Vanuatu (1 vessel).
  21. ↑ "Austal Launched First Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boat". Navy recognition. 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-06-22. The first of 21 Guardian-class, Pacific Patrol Boats (PPB-R) was launched by Austal last month. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea in late October 2018.
  22. 1 2 "Keel laying for first Pacific Patrol Boat replacement". Monch Publishing Group. 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2018-04-22. The new ‘Guardian’ class patrol boats will come to replace the 12 Pacific Island nations’ ageing ‘Pacific’ class patrol boats, which had been gifted by Australia under the PPB programme implemented in 1983. The first vessel is scheduled for delivery to Papua New Guinea, who will receive a total of four patrol boats, by October 2018 and the last vessel is scheduled for delivery by 2023.
  23. ↑ David Sigston (2018-05-30). "Austal launches first Pacific Patrol Boat". News (AU). Retrieved 2018-06-01. The first of a new fleet of patrol boats destined for Australia's Pacific neighbours has been launched by Australian shipbuilder Austal.
  24. ↑ Cedric Patjole (2018-07-08). "Australian ship named after Ted Diro". Loop.
  25. ↑ Gabriel Dominguez (2018-08-09). "First Guardian class PPB starts sea trials". Jane's Defence Weekly. London. Archived from the original on 2018-08-10. Australian shipbuilder Austal announced on 9 August that the first Guardian-class Pacific Patrol Boat (PPB) had begun sea trials.
  26. ↑ "Austal conducts its first sea trial for Pacific Patrol Boats - Manufacturers' Monthly". Maritime Monthly. 2018-08-13. Retrieved 2018-08-15. Austal has commenced sea trials for the first of the Guardian Class Pacific Patrol Boats, as part of the 21 vessels the company will be delivering to the government for the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement (PPB-R) Project.
  27. ↑ Sapeer Mayron (2018-08-15). "Maritime police get $113,535 boost". Samoan Observer. Retrieved 2018-08-18. The change rooms are a necessary addition because in August 2019, the wing will receive an Australian government-funded Guardian Class Patrol Boat, which will be used by both male and female police.
  28. ↑ "Operation Kaukledm". 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  29. 1 2 Dave Morley (2018-01-04). "Forging ties in Tonga". Australian Navy. Retrieved 2018-04-22. Lieutenant Commander Ryan, who has been in Tonga for eight months, said the improvements were being carried out to support the arrival of Tonga’s two new Guardian-class patrol boats, which are due in mid-2019 and 2021, respectively.
  30. 1 2 "RSIPF thank Australian gov't". Solomon Star News. 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-16. Commissioner Varley explains: “The new Guardian class of patrol boats will be much larger with increased capacity and extended range compared to the current Pacific class of patrol boats. This will be great especially for patrolling of Solomon Islands large maritime border.”
  31. ↑ Maika Bolatiki (2018-03-07). "Australian High Commissioner Visits RFMF Commander". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 2018-04-22. Director Peacekeeping Operations and Advisor to the RFMF Commander Lieutenant Colonel Pacolo Luveni said, in this visit Mr Feakes said the replacement of the Kula, a Guardian class patrol vessel will be arriving into Fiji on March 2020 and not in 2022.
  32. ↑ "Vanuatu welcomes the return of RVS Tukoro". Island Life magazine. 2016-08-24. Retrieved 2018-06-11. The Australian Government, through its Defence Cooperation Program, has demonstrated its long-term commitment to Vanuatu’s maritime security, investing almost 800 million vatu (AU$10 million) over the past five years in maintaining RVS Tukoro and training her crew to ensure that Vanuatu has an excellent maritime capability until a new patrol boat is delivered in 2021 through the Pacific Maritime Security Program.
  33. 1 2 "Timor-Leste to receive two patrol boats from Australia". Shephard Media. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-04-22. Australia's Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project is worth over $300 million. A total of 21 Guardian-class patrol boats will built by Austal and delivered to 13 nations from late 2018. The two vessels for Timor-Leste will arrive in the second half of 2023.
  34. 1 2 "Australia: 21 Patrol Boat, $300m Deal". Marinelink. 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-22. On current build schedules, the two vessels will be gifted to Timor-Leste in the second half of 2023.
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