Three navies re-load with missiles in Australia’s north

With infinite care and precision under the scorching Darwin sun, a heavy crane lowered a missile canister into a forward vertical launch system (VLS) cell of the American Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer USS Dewey.

CAPTION: Support staff from Thales Australia, Port of Darwin and the ADF assist in the re-arming of HMAS Warramunga’s vertical launching system in Darwin, NT. Story by Lieutenant Commander Jonathan White. Photos by Petty Officer Leo Baumgartner.

Safety was paramount, and an exclusion zone of more than 180 metres was maintained to ensure the transport, movement and installation of these missiles was conducted without mishap.

The day before, a similar activity occurred on the same wharf, when HMAS Warramunga removed, and then reinstalled, an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile canister, as proof of concept.

Great care was taken to moor both ships firmly to the wharf, to minimise movement despite the strong currents of the shallow tidal waters.

Together, these re-arming activities, and another conducted on the Canadian ship HMCS Vancouver in Broome, constituted the first re-arming of Australian and partner-nation warships in the north of Australia.

CAPTION: An Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile canister is lowered into the vertical launching system on board HMAS Warramunga during a re-arming conducted at East Arm Wharf in Darwin, NT.

On board the ships and along the wharf, specialist teams made up of representatives from the US Navy, NT Government, Port of Darwin, Thales and Linx, plus experts from more than 10 US and Australian Army and Navy ordnance and munitions commands, executed a re-arming plan that took months to develop.

The plan had to be executed in a few short hours in the face of challenging conditions.

Senior representatives from all three navies attended Dewey to discuss the re-arming activities and their implications.

From Australia, Commander Northern Command Captain Mitchell Livingstone said it was the first time a RAN vessel had been re-armed with a VLS in Darwin.

“It was a roaring success – a significant first for the Royal Australian Navy, a first for the NT and the port of Darwin,” Captain Livingstone said.

“And we’ll do USS Dewey this afternoon, which will be a first.

“And when Canada goes to Broome and achieves that evolution, it will be another first.”

Commanding Officer Dewey Commander Nicholas Maruca was more forthright.

“The ability to go to other places (like Darwin) gives us the quick reaction of reloading; so that if conflict were to erupt, being able to go to various locations around the Indo-Pacific makes it faster to get back on the field to support operations,” Commander Maruca said.

Commodore David Mazur, Commander of the Canadian squadron attending Exercise Kakadu in the seas around Darwin, said that for Canada it was about being able to deploy forward and sustain.

“We have been deploying for many years to this region and we have logistics and personnel movements and fuelling squared-off,” Commodore Mazur said.

“We want to make sure, on the higher end [of the warfighting spectrum], if anything ever required it, that we are able to do this overseas.

“This is the furthest forward we have ever done this.”

Captain Livingstone said the re-arming of these ships delivered on the National Defence Strategy, by allowing Australia and partner nations to save many days of transit time to the larger ports along the east and west coasts.

“Re-arming, refuelling and reprovisioning in the north of Australia allows ships to be back on station much faster.

“It’s a catchcry but it’s very legitimate,” Captain Livingstone said.

“We are better together, and I would expect that in times of conflict, we would all be working very closely together.”

CAPTION: Commander Headquarters Northern Command Captain Mitchell Livingstone with Commanding Officer USS Dewey Commander Nicholas Maruca and Commander Canadian Fleet Pacific Commodore Dave Mazur on board USS Dewey while alongside East Arm Wharf in Darwin.

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