Newsdesk – Military Aviation

Are the Navy Sea Kings Destined for the Mine Countermeasures Role?

Suggestions that the existing RAN Westland Sea King ASW helicopters might be employed in the mine countermeasures role gained strength as we closed for press. This follows on the granting of funds to further develop a radically different concept for minesweeping inshore waters that has been developed by DSTO and the RAN Research Laboratories.

Australia presently has only one Ton class minesweeper in service and this aged craft is being kept operational basically to evaluate the present research programme. Cost of building new state-of-the-art mine countermeasures vessels nowadays runs to beyond $100m a copy, a big ticket item in any language and one that would prove to be a major burden on RAN future requirements in the decade ahead. A considerably cheaper, and possibly more effective solution has been found that would allow Australia’s large fleet of ocean-going trawlers to perform in the minesweeping role it hostilities should occur.

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