Shipbucket

Certainly my read as well. One would wonder why a 76mm pop-gun would be required for a true training boat, rather than a gee-hmm-don't-call-it-an-OPV.

I think you're being an insulting little shit again. But my opinion about you is well known. Loud, obnoxious, and contributing little of value, let alone any drawings of use.

As for the RAN and Damen, good. The RAN is obviously getting an extra OPV through back door tactics.

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Would you please not eat my gun...

Its blatantly obvious we are, thing is what else are they going to cram into it to help justify it? A large OPV is ustifiable but Aviation Training Vessel seems a bit far, after-all we had the HMAS Choules and (Not for much longer) HMAS Tobruk which both have large helicopter decks. Anything to get OPVs I suppose

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"Loitering on the High Seas" (Named after the good ship Rodondo)
There's no such thing as "nothing left to draw" If you can down 10 pints and draw, you're doing alright by my standards

ehh, let me just be a bit nationalist! just go and by one of those Norwegian Stand by vessels, here you have an vessel that can do rescue, prevent oil to damage shore, can act as an supply vessel, have operation room, and an it have an helicopter deck that can handle up to helicopters like chinook's ( and her you can have helicopter deck either on the aft deck, or on the bow above the bridge!)

No back again: I'll bet that Australia is first baying the ship as an helicopter ship, but have it "made ready for! for all the other equipment they want in it but not fitted it yet (just to saw money). (we Norwegian did that with the Norwegian frigates! just so we could lure our government in giving us those five frigates, and then just put the rest on expenses!)

What is a more likly to be the ships main gun the 57mm or 76mm?

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Supreme Commander of the Astrofleets

76mm probably, we still have 76mm on the remaining Adelaide Class FFGs, no sense adopting another whole calibre when we already have 25mm,76mm, 127mm

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Work list(Current)
Miscellaneous|Victorian Colonial Navy|Murray Riverboats|Colony of Victoria AU|Project Sail-fixing SB's sail shortage
How to mentally pronounce my usernameRow-(as in a boat)Don-(as in the short form of Donald)Dough-(bread)
"Loitering on the High Seas" (Named after the good ship Rodondo)
There's no such thing as "nothing left to draw" If you can down 10 pints and draw, you're doing alright by my standards

They may even decide to refurbish and install one of the 76/62 super rapids off ex Canberra or Adelaide (assuming they were salvaged before the ships became dive wrecks) Notice the gun cupola on the artists impressions is of the original 'dome' variety as per the OHPs, not the newer faceted 'stealth' design.

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DCFI (Falkland Islands) AU Nation

You guys are talking as though the arming of the Aviation Training Ship as an OPV is a foregone conclusion. I'll bet you that this vessel does not have a gun mounting and the biggest guns it will carry (if at all) will be 50 Cal HMGs.

I even wonder if it will commission as one of Her Majesty's Australian Ships.

I'll be glad to be proved wrong but I suspect I'm not.

>> Edit - See where the funding is coming from! I believe this ship is seen as a training asset not a fleet asset. Look under the section on Through-life Support. http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/id/dcp/ht ... 000_7.html

but if it is purely an training asset, why would they choose an OPV hull? there are cheaper options.

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The OPV based training ship IS the cheap option. Think about it; with one LSD now in service, two LHDs about to come into service and 12 helicopter capable frigates in service there is now a huge requirement for training sea-based helicopter aircrew, handlers and maintainers. Oh, don't forget the fleet replenishment ships with flight decks as well.

The LSD and LHDs will primarily be the platforms for Army aviators so some training at sea will be required for the operators of the MRH90s, the ARH Tigers and the Chinooks. Of course there will be Navy aviators operating off them as well in their Romeo Seahawks and dare I suggest the EC135s that will bought for Air 9000 Phase 7. Then all the current frigates and future surface combatants do/will operate helicopters as well.

To take any one of the LSD, LHDs, DDs or FFs out of fleet operations for extended helicopter training will be extremely expensive so it appears to me a purpose built aviation training ship of about 2,500 tonnes is about the right size to give blue water experience to embryo helo aircrew and their support. Anything smaller than a 2,500 tonne vessel couldn't operate in the ocean to give that experience. A hull based on a disarmed OPV but with a reduced miltary based radar suite and a flight deck and hangar is much cheaper than a 4,000 fully armed frigate or a 27,000 tonne LHD.

These are my thoughts on the subject and have no other basis than the little released about the vessel in the public arena and logic.