Royal Australian Navy Frigate HMAS Toowoomba, nicknamed the ‘Purple Pony’, was returned to the water at Henderson, Western Australia, on April 12 after an 18-month upkeep interval. Toowomba is the fifth of the Navy’s eight Anzac-class frigates to exit the dry manufacturing part of the Anzac Midlife Functionality Assurance Program (AMCAP). This program entails vital out-of-water upkeep and upgrades to the general functionality of the Anzac class. The main target for the crew and supporting business now turns from deep-cycle upkeep on Toowoomba’s methods, to returning them to an operational state.
Commanding Officer of Toowoomba, Commander Darin MacDonald stated,“ reaching a ship’s undocking relied on the experience of Commonwealth and Defence industries, with many companions having undertaken weeks of assurance actions to certify the protection of the ship. The AMCAP program is an ongoing collaboration between Defence and business companions. Toowoomba has been the beneficiary of a rolling cycle of enhancements from earlier ships. Undocking additionally marks a transition of duty for the ship again to Navy, with the ship’s firm happy to renew possession of the Purple Pony.”
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Toowoomba can be docked in October 2015 to bear the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) improve. The improve will embrace the becoming of CEA Applied sciences’ CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT phased array radars on new masts, a Vampir NG Infrared Search and Observe system, and Sharpeye Navigational Radar Methods, together with enhancements to the operations room gear and format. It will contain quite a lot of trials, each alongside and at sea, earlier than the ship is scheduled to return to an operational cycle on the finish of this 12 months. The RAN intends to start out changing theirs in 2027 when their first Hunter-class frigate is commissioned, whereas the RNZN ships will stay lively till the mid-2030s.
HMAS Toowoomba (FFH 156) is the seventh Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was laid down in 2002 by Tenix Defence and commissioned in 2005. In 2007, Toowoomba was deployed to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Slipper. Her second deployment to the Center East occurred in the course of the second half of 2009. As a part of this, she grew to become the primary RAN vessel to function with the counter-piracy Mixed Process Pressure 151. The Anzacs are based mostly on Blohm + Voss’ MEKO 200 PN (or Vasco da Gama-class) frigates, modified to satisfy Australian and New Zealand specs and maximise the usage of regionally constructed gear.
