Austal launches first Guardian-class PPB
Austal has launched the first of 21 Guardian-class Pacific Patrol Boats (PPB), the company announced on 30 May.
The boats are being built under Australia's Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project. The 21 vessels will be delivered to 13 nations from October 2018, while this first boat will be handed over to Papua New Guinea.
The PPBs are 39.5m long with a beam of 8m and a loaded draft of 2.5m. The vessels are capable of travelling 3,000 nm at 12kt, with a maximum speed of 20kt. Each vessel can accommodate 23 people.
Construction work on the second and the third vessels has already begun, while the fourth boat will enter the build phase in June 2018.
More from Naval Warfare
-
![HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries sign MoU to explore shipbuilding collaboration]()
HII and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries sign MoU to explore shipbuilding collaboration
The Memorandum of Understanding focused on speeding up naval shipbuilding and production in both companies.
-
![Latest Virginia-class submarine, USS Iowa, commissioned]()
Latest Virginia-class submarine, USS Iowa, commissioned
SSN-797 was commissioned as USS Iowa, the first Virginia-class submarine of the second Trump administration. It was described as “just the beginning” of a revitalisation of US naval shipbuilding by Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.
-
![Raytheon, Nammo and Northrop Grumman join forces to produce MK72 solid rocket motors]()
Raytheon, Nammo and Northrop Grumman join forces to produce MK72 solid rocket motors
MK72 is a crucial capability for the SM-3 interceptors and the Aegis BMD system.
-
![Horizon-class vessels complete critical design review in mid-life upgrade]()
Horizon-class vessels complete critical design review in mid-life upgrade
The critical design review puts the vessels on course to be fully upgraded by the end of 2030.
-
![Canada begins work on heavy polar icebreaker to protect its high-Arctic sovereignty]()
Canada begins work on heavy polar icebreaker to protect its high-Arctic sovereignty
The vessel, made under the auspices of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, will be the first heavy icebreaker built in Canada for over six decades.
-
![Fincantieri begins steel-cutting on FREMM EVO frigates for the Italian Navy]()
Fincantieri begins steel-cutting on FREMM EVO frigates for the Italian Navy
The two new frigates are expected to enter service by 2030.
