Thread: Navy 800+ Army and Airforce in there place

This may be of interest.

Seven Aussie warships demonstrate operational readiness - CONTACT magazine

How do we defend against swarm attacks by these modern missiles? Detecting the threat from far enough away to allow the maximum effect of ship's weapons is the key. At this point, only ships operating with a Carrier task group can claim to have this capability. What of the RAN ?. There is one weapon in our possession that has demonstrated outstanding capability in detecting and destroying incoming threats. That is the F-35 fighter jet. The F-35 systems have successfully detected a two stage ballistic missile launch 1300 km's away. Using the F-35 , and our ship's cooperative engagement capability, [CEC.],which networks ships in a task group , the F-35 can send information to the AAW in the task group which can then decide to use its own weapons against the threat, or through CEC designate another ship to destroy the threat. CEC allows all ships equipped with it to see the same picture simultaneously , and can act as a single battle group to provide effective defence. However, until the RAN deploys F-35's on to their LHD's, it would be very difficult to operate independent of a USN carrier group with relative safety.

Anzac frigates , afaik , weren't fitted with a CIWS. They do have the CEA CEFAR 3D active phased array radar to give fire control for every target detected. CEFAR can guide the frigates 32 ESSM's simultaneously to their targets, the number of targets destroyed is limited by the number of ESSM's available, and their launch rate. When the Anzacs get the Block 2 ESSM's to replace the Block 1's, their anti-ASM capabilities will be increased.

The Hunter class frigates will be fitted with an advanced version of the CEFAR radar, the AEGIS Baseline 9 combat system and SAAB Australia 9LV tactical interface which will give the ships unparalleled capability of detecting and engaging aircraft and ballistic missiles, and will make our Hunters superior to the British version. Those systems will give the Hunters superior capabilities to the current AWD's. The Three AEGIS DDG's and nine Hunter class will give Australia the largest fleet of AEGIS-equipped warships outside the USN. Upgrade the missiles to the Block 2 standard, [ SM6, ESSM's], make the LHD's capable of operating F35's, and we may be able to operate independent of the USN. [ Or at the very least give a potential adversary second thoughts ] [ EDIT, a couple of nuclear submarines would round out the force nicely.]

Here is an interesting video, which explains the reasons the Sheffield and her sister ship were ineffective in defending against Argentine Exocet attack during the Falklands war.

Air Crash Investigation, the Falklands war, the legacy.

exocet attack on sheffield falklands war you tube - Bing video

Nuclear armed submarines and strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Nuclear-armed submarines and strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific | The Strategist

deleted on a strictly "no one needs to know" basis

Why it may not be feasible to carry aircraft on our LHD's.

This Aircraft Carrier Can Launch a Very Special Type of F-35 Fighter | The National Interest

Originally Posted by Tombie

Wonder if I could re-enlist at my age?

Why not give it a try? You could start at the level Of a Grizzled CPO & work your way either direction.

With Scotty from marketing offering up $270billion for defense , there's going to be lots of opportunity.

How much do they get paid now?

When I left the army in 1986 I was being paid Sgt Level 6 Airframes. No civilian engineering job could come close to that.

The Lowy Institute assessment of the Defence Strategic update. Smart sea mines are on the list.

Defence Strategic Update 2020: A first assessment | The Interpreter