Fourth Evolved Cape-class patrol boat reaches Australia’s navy
ADV Cape Capricorn is the Royal Australian Navy’s fourth Evolved Cape-class patrol boat. (Photo: Austal)
Deliveries of Evolved Cape patrol boats to Australia’s navy have now reached the halfway stage.
Austal Australia announced on 13 February that it had handed over the fourth 57.8m-long Evolved Cape-class patrol boat to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
Built at Austal’s Western Australian shipyard in Henderson, the aluminium-hulled vessel has been christened ADV Cape Capricorn (pennant number 317).
Paddy Gregg, Austal’s CEO, said: ‘Austal has now delivered four Evolved Capes to the RAN since the contract was signed in May 2020, and we are launching a new vessel every three months, after around 12 months’ construction.’
This Project Sea 1445 Phase 1 shipbuilding programme will see eight boats delivered by mid-2024. Austal Australia
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development]()
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
-
![AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise]()
AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise
The AUKUS partnership is accelerating uncrewed undersea capability while its submarine arm inches forward, and Australia’s decision to settle for three in-service Virginia-class boats raises questions about industrial risk, dependency and whether Pillar II may deliver meaningful capability long before Pillar I can.
-
![AUKUS plan B? Japan’s submarines stopgap gains traction]()
AUKUS plan B? Japan’s submarines stopgap gains traction
Australia’s Collins-class life of type extension has revived debate over whether Canberra needs a contingency plan as risks to every stage of the AUKUS pathway mount. With Japan newly open to exports, the case for a diesel-electric stopgap is gaining traction.
