Navy's new stealthy patrol boats
Posted: 24 Sep 2015 12:20
The Navy has apparently acquired two new patrol boats by stealth. These new vessels are so stealthy that almost no one knows that they have them, disguised as they are by being painted with a blue hull and white upper works.
Apparently the RAN has acquired two of the Australian Border Force's new Cape Class Patrol Boats. This is because the Cape Class, which were delivered on time and budget, require a crew of 18 rather than the 10 of the preceding Bay Class and the newly renamed ABF simply doesn't have the warm bodies to crew all eight of the new vessels.
The solution they came up with was to hand two of them over to the Navy to operate until the ABF recruits and trains enough people to crew the two temporarily Navy-crewed boats.
I don't have a time frame on how long the RAN will crew both boats, probably a good 6-12 months while the ABF recruit and train crews, at which time the ADF will hand them back to their owners, hopefully none the worse for wear.
Given their obvious similarity to the Armidale's, albeit an Armidale that's been overeating, Navy apparently had no issue crewing them.
Mike
Apparently the RAN has acquired two of the Australian Border Force's new Cape Class Patrol Boats. This is because the Cape Class, which were delivered on time and budget, require a crew of 18 rather than the 10 of the preceding Bay Class and the newly renamed ABF simply doesn't have the warm bodies to crew all eight of the new vessels.
The solution they came up with was to hand two of them over to the Navy to operate until the ABF recruits and trains enough people to crew the two temporarily Navy-crewed boats.
I don't have a time frame on how long the RAN will crew both boats, probably a good 6-12 months while the ABF recruit and train crews, at which time the ADF will hand them back to their owners, hopefully none the worse for wear.
Given their obvious similarity to the Armidale's, albeit an Armidale that's been overeating, Navy apparently had no issue crewing them.
Mike