Australia announces Hunter-class vessel names
The Royal Australian Navy’s future guided missile frigates will be named the Hunter class with the first of these guided missile frigates to be commissioned in the late 2020s, the navy announced on 29 June.
The first batch of three ships of the class will carry the names of three major Australian regions: HMAS Flinders (II); Hunter and Tasman.
The nine new vessels will incorporate advanced design factors and integrated systems to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations. They will replace the ANZAC-class frigates that are currently in operation.
VADM Tim Barrett, Chief of the Australian navy, said: ‘The replacement of our eight ANZAC-class frigates with nine frigates optimised for anti-submarine warfare…will significantly enhance the lethality of our surface combatant capabilities.’
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