Page 22 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

22
DEFENCE BUSINESS
ADM SKILLING SUMMIT
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
PFG
LEFT: The prototype contender for the RAN’s 11-metre Special Forces requirement
to ensure maximum efficiency for specific missions. This includes the ability to carry a 5.5 metre rigid- hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) that is launched and retrieved over the LMC’s stern.
The LMCs are constructed of what PFG says is virtually inde- structible High-Density Polyethyl- ene (HDPE). The company claims this material, obtained from Ger- many, outperforms alloy or com- posite materials in terms of impact/
vibration absorption, durability and buoyancy, and does not corrode, foul, or require painting.
Coincidentally, the separate sea boat tenders for the RAN and RNZN were both to have closed on 20 January 2023 although the New Zealand timeframe was later ex- tended by nearly three weeks.
“Ship building itself as a process is relatively quick and simple compared to the slow nurturing of the resources and skills on which all successful naval operations must be based – and that's not just the men and women in the ships and submarines, but it's the industry support base that wraps around it.”
The New Zealand requirements documentation report- However, CDRE Klenthis stated that only nine per cent
edly ran to 40 pages, the Australian documentation to of Australian students are studying the advanced math-
720 pages.
ematics required to get into engineering classical science
and applied science degrees.
This is understandable. While the RNZN over the next five years is seeking 26 ‘Naval Small Craft’ of between 7.3 “We can't have an ambition at the national level that is
and 7.8 metres, the ADF requirement involves not only not then supported by the State and Territory education
41 8.5-metre sea boats for the RAN over a systems or we’re cheating ourselves, partic-
longer period, but also nine 11-metre Spe- ularly when it comes to long term careers,”
cial Forces boats for Army that must be air- he said.
“WE NEED TO DEVELOP
deployable.
AND GROW A LARGER
SHOWCASING LOCAL INDUSTRY
All the craft being proposed by PFG for these requirements will be constructed from Delegates to the ADM Defence Skilling
HIGHLY-SKILLED
HDPE.
Summit in Hobart extended their knowledge
WORKFORCE TO
of the state’s industrial sector with a visit to
For the Special Forces requirement, the CONTINUE TO ENHANCE
Tasmanian government provided a $600,000 the waterfront headquarters of the company
THIS COUNTRY'S
interest-free loan to PFG to design and build that hopes to supply both the Royal Austra-
lian and the Royal New Zealand Navies with
an 11-metre prototype evolved from the com- SECURITY”
pany’s Sentinel tactical watercraft range, pa- their next generation of Sea Boats.
trol variants of which are in service with the For the privately-owned PFG Group, this
objective follows its first defence-linked
Queensland and Tasmanian police.
The prototype was unveiled at the Indo-Pacific Maritime contract, signed in September 2021, under which it is sup-
Exposition in Sydney in May 2022, fitted at that time with plying the RNZN with three 12.5 metre high-speed Litto-
ral Manoeuvre Craft (LMC), the first of which was sched-
a 40mm automatic grenade launcher, and later seen along- side in Hobart by the ADM delegates.
uled to begin sea trials on the Derwent early in 2023. The
contract is worth about $6 million and delivery of all three
The Sentinel 1100 has a beam of 3.5 metres and fully LMCs to the RNZN is scheduled through 2023.
loaded can reach a top speed of around 45 knots. HPDE is used in constructing the deck and console base as well Powered by twin inboard 540 hp Cummins diesels and
Hamilton waterjets, the waterjets and a dynamic position-
as the hull.
ing system work in tandem to provide precision manoeu-
At the RAN’s request, the Sentinel 1100 prototype
vrability and propeller-free propulsion for personnel safety. Tasking will involve expeditionary reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, and short-range logistics support. Deck space including shock-mitigating seating is reconfigurable
has been equipped with vibration sensors, presumably to measure the success of the design in reducing the severe shock forces experienced by passengers and crew on in- service RHIBS. ■