Australia fast-tracks extra patrol boats
Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds announced on 1 May that her country’s navy would receive six additional Cape-class patrol boats, to be built by Austal.
The fast-tracked Royal Australian Navy (RAN) programme will cost some A$350 million ($226.3 million), with the boats to be constructed at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Perth.
Construction will commence immediately, with first delivery expected in September 2021. The final boat will be handed to the RAN in mid-2023.
The RAN currently leases two 58m Cape-class boats from the Australian Border Force (ABF), while the latter operates eight of its own.
Each of the
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