AUSTRALIA'S eighth and final Anzac frigate built under a plan to upgrade the Royal Australian Navy was commissioned today. HMAS Perth was commissioned at Fremantle this morning and will be deployed within Australian waters and overseas. She is the third RAN ship to bear that name.
"We are extremely proud to join the ranks of Australia's fighting elite and will fulfil our duties in the tradition of those who served on Perth I and II before us", Commander Simon Gregg said.
HMAS Perth was the 10th Anzac frigate built at Tenix's Melbourne shipyard as part of a $7 billion, 17-year project. Tenix built eight Anzac frigates for the Australian navy and two for New Zealand's navy, handing HMAS Perth over to the RAN in June.
Anzacs are 3600 tonne long-range escorts capable of countering simultaneous threats from the air, surface and underwater. They are fitted with radars, omni-directional hull mounted sonar and torpedoes. The ships can travel at speeds faster than 27 knots and have an operational range of more than 6000 nautical miles.
Several other Anzac frigates have been deployed in the Persian Gulf as part of Australia's defence activities in the region. |