Australian shipyard Austal Ltd. has launched on 4 March 2022, the second Evolved Cape-class patrol boat bound for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The launching took place at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.
The first boat was launched in October 2021 and is expected to arrive at the RAN in March 2022. Four more ships are in different levels of construction and are scheduled to be delivered at a four-month interval up until 2023.
The boat, hull number 315, is the second of six ordered by the Australian Department of Defence under a A$324 million contract with Austal Ltd. The boat will be finalised and tested before being sent to the RAN later this year.
The Evolved Cape-class patrol boats, together with the upcoming Arufara-class offshore patrol vessels, will be replacing the RAN’s fleet of Armidale-class patrol boats and will be used for border and fisheries protection, maritime law enforcement, and maritime defence missions.
