The Arafura Class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) is the Royal Australian Navy's newest patrol vessel class. HMAS Arafura and HMAS Eyre are commissioned and in service.
Under Project SEA 1180 Phase 1, the Arafura Class will replace the Armidale Class patrol boats. The vessels operate alongside Cape Class patrol boats.
There are 6 Arafura Class OPVs. The first 2 ships were built in South Australia. The remaining 4 are being built in Western Australia.
The Arafura Class supports maritime patrol, surveillance and response tasks. The vessels can deploy specialist mission packages, including a maritime tactical unmanned aerial system. In future, they will support rapid environmental assessment and mine countermeasure capabilities.
The vessels operate with Australian Border Force, Australian Defence Force units and regional partners.
Arafura Class vessels
- HMAS Arafura
- HMAS Eyre
- OPV3 will be HMAS Pilbara
- OPV4 will be HMAS Gippsland
- OPV5 will be HMAS Illawarra
- OPV6 will be HMAS Carpentaria
Specifications
- Builder: Civmec Defence Industries
- Length: 80 metres
- Beam: 13 metres
- Draught: 4 metres
- Speed: 20 knots
- Range: 4,000 nautical miles
- Crew: 40
- Accommodation: 60
- Machinery: two 4,250 kilowatt diesel engines
Boats
- Two 8.5 metre Boomeranger FRB 850 rigid hull inflatable boats (crane-launched)
- One 10.5 metre Boomeranger C1100 rigid hull inflatable boat (stern-launched)