Honouring the Legacy of HMAS Huon (II)
A Tribute to the Huon Class Minehunter Coastal Vessel’s Service to Australia
After 25 years of service, The Royal Australian Navy has scheduled the decommissioning of HMAS Huon (II) on Thursday 30th May 2024. The decommissioning ceremony is expected to be held at the ship’s homeport of HMAS Waterhen in Sydney, NSW.
HMAS Huon (II) was the first of the six Huon Class Minehunter Coastal (MHC) vessels to be commissioned on the 15th May 1999. Originally designed in Italy as the Gaeta Class for the Italian Navy, the ship was outfitted with improved accommodation and mine hunting capabilities to suit the Australian conditions.
The Huon Class Minehunters are named after Australian rivers, with HMAS Huon (II) as the second RAN ship to carry this name. HMAS Huon (I) was a River Class Destroyer, commissioned in service during World War I. The Huon Class features a unique single skin solid hull with no ribs or frames, high underwater shock resistance and inherently low magnetic signatures, allowing the ships to operate in hostile marine environments.
For Mine Countermeasure (MCM) operations, the Huon Class ships are fitted with Variable Depth Sonar capable of detection in excess of 1,000 m ahead of the ship. Once a mine is detected, the ship will ‘hover’ roughly 200 m from the contact and deploy mine disposal vehicles or clearance divers to investigate and neutralise the mine threat. Each ship is fitted with a pair of electrically powered Double Eagle Mine Disposal System (MDS) vehicles, for safe and effective MCM operations. HMAS Huon (II) is also fitted with an MSI DS30B Oerlikon 30mm rapid-fire cannon, the only 30mm cannon in service with the Australian Defence Force.
BlueZone Group has supported the Double Eagle MDS vehicles within Australia for over 20 years in partnership with Saab Dynamics of Sweden. Operated by the RAN since 1999, the Double Eagle MDS vehicles are operated from the six Huon Class Minehunter Coastal ships and supported at BlueZone’s workshop facility in Newcastle, NSW.
Read More:
Decommissioning of the HMAS Huon (II) minehunter coastal vessel
Double Eagle for Australian MCM Conditions
