Micronesia receives first Guardian-class patrol boat with another to come
The crew of FSS Tosiwo Nakayama. (Photo: Austal)
FSS Tosiwo Nakayama is the first of two 39.5m-long Guardian-class boats for the Federated States of Micronesia, built by Austal under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project.
Austal Australia has delivered its 14th Guardian-class patrol boat to the Australian Department of Defence, the company announced on 11 March.
FSS Tosiwo Nakayama is one of two 39.5m-long Guardian-class boats destined for the Federated States of Micronesia under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project.
Each Guardian-class vessel carries a fast rescue boat powered by two 90hp Yamaha outboard motors, deployed and retrieved by a launch and recovery system fitted at the stern. The vessels are also armed with a 30mm calibre gun along with optional 0.50cal general-purpose machine guns.
The Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project was awarded to Austal Australia in May 2016, with an additional contract option awarded in April 2018 that took the programme to 21 vessels with an overall value exceeding A$335 million ($243 million).
A dozen Pacific Island nations will receive the Guardian-class boats by 2023: Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste.
Austal supports Guardian-class boats from its service centre in Cairns that hosts a 1,200t-capacity and 80m-long slipway, as well as a 1,120t mobile boat hoist.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![How France’s SNLE 3G programme is reshaping the naval nuclear industrial base]()
How France’s SNLE 3G programme is reshaping the naval nuclear industrial base
Extending far beyond a four-submarine replacement programme, France’s ballistic missile submarine effort is a decades-long industrial initiative designed to preserve the country’s ability to build and sustain nuclear-powered strategic platforms.
-
![Quantum Systems enters maritime domain with Baltic-focused USV and UUV]()
Quantum Systems enters maritime domain with Baltic-focused USV and UUV
Quantum Systems has launched into the maritime domain with Seavex and Subvex, aiming to close a Baltic Sea ISR gap opened by infrastructure sabotage.
-
![Suppliers await next step in Australia’s mine warfare transition]()
Suppliers await next step in Australia’s mine warfare transition
Australia’s mine countermeasure capability remains in flux as the Huon-class nears retirement, but accelerated investment in autonomous systems is opening a path for industry.
-
![Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?]()
Can the US Navy ask Indo-Pacific allies to do more while training with them less?
As the Iran War draws US ships and marine corps units away from the Indo-Pacific, curtailed exercises and a temporary carrier gap are exposing tensions between Washington’s demand for more self-reliant allies and the joint training needed to realise that ambition.
-
![How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?]()
How could Rheinmetall’s GMF 140 fit with ongoing programmes in North America?
With Canada committed to its River-class replacement and the USN pursuing a lower-cost frigate, Rheinmetall will need to demonstrate where the GMF 140 can fill a capability gap in the North American fleet.
