According to information published by the U.S. DoD on December 20, 2021, the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group conducted a bilateral training exercise with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to test and refine warfighting principles.
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Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale and Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (Picture source: U.S. Navy)
RAN and the U.S. Navy joined together to deploy high-end training tactics and improve proficiencies in advanced kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities, capable of projecting dominant defensives against a multi-domain threat environment.
The bilateral, multi-phase exercise was conducted over several weeks and included events such as enhanced maritime communication tactics, electronic warfare operations and integrated anti-air, anti-surface operations.
Participating naval units conducted and evaluated joint integrated surface and air engagements to further increase collective war-fighting readiness, maritime superiority, and power projection in the Indo-Pacific.
The Anzac-class frigate HMAS Warramunga (FFH 152) represented the Royal Australian Navy in the bilateral training exercise. The class is based on Blohm + Voss' MEKO 200 PN (or Vasco da Gama class) frigates, modified to meet Australian and New Zealand specifications and maximise the use of locally built equipment.
Each frigate has a 3,600-tonne (3,500-long-ton; 4,000-short-ton) full load displacement. The ships are 109 metres (358 ft) long at the waterline, and 118 metres (387 ft) long overall, with a beam of 14.8 metres (49 ft), and a full load draught of 4.35 metres (14.3 ft).
Maximum speed is 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), and maximum range is over 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph); about 50% greater than other MEKO 200 designs.
The main armament for the frigate is a 5-inch 54 calibre Mark 45 gun, supplemented by an eight-cell Mark 41 vertical launch system (for RIM-7 Sea Sparrow or RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles) and two 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) machine guns.
