Anzac-class frigate HMAS Arunta rejoins RAN fleet after AMCAP upgrade

The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) Anzac (MEKO 200)-class frigate HMAS Arunta (II) has rejoined the fleet after having undergone a 20-month-long Anzac Mid-Life Capability Assurance Program (AMCAP) upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, Western Australia.

HMAS Arunta has rejoined the RAN fleet after having completed a 20-month-long AMCAP upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The RAN announced on 18 June that the 3,600-tonne vessel, which is the first of eight ships of the class to have completed the extensive upgrade, returned in early June to its home port of Fleet Base West where it rejoined the fleet. The 118 m-long ship, which was commissioned in December 1998, is expected to begin conducting work-ups and testing the new equipment on board in the near future.

Upgrade work on the second ship, HMAS Anzac (III), began in September 2018. Anzac , which entered service in May 1996, is the lead ship of the class.

As Jane’s previously reported, the AMCAP forms the major work element within an AUD2 billion (USD1.37 billion) Warship Asset Management Agreement signed in April 2016.

Under the eight-year programme, BAE Systems Australia, Saab Australia, Naval Ship Management, and the Australian government are jointly supporting the Anzac-class frigates until their replacement in the 2030s under Project Sea 5000 by nine Hunter-class Future Frigates based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

The AMCAP scope of work includes the replacement under Project Sea 1448 4B of the ageing Raytheon SPS-49(V)8 ANZ long-range air-search radar with the CEAFAR2 L-band radar. This has been developed from the CEAFAR X-band/S-band active phased array system installed on the Anzacs as part of their recent anti-ship missile defence (ASMD) upgrade.