Австралиялық Тәуелсіз Әскери-Теңіз Күштерінің "Хьюон" класты мина таусылмайтын кемелері

Class of Royal Australian Navy minehunters

The Huon class minehunter coastal (MHC) ships are a group of minehunters built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Following problems with the s, a request for tender was issued in 1993 for a class of six coastal minehunters under the project designation SEA 1555. The tender was awarded in 1994 to the partnership of Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, which was offering a variant of the Italian
Five of the six ships were constructed completely in Newcastle, New South Wales, while the hull of the first ship was built in Italy, then transported to Australia for fitting out. Construction ran from 1994 to 2003, with lead ship entering service in 1999. All six vessels are based at , in Sydney. In 2006, following a capability review three years prior, one minehunter was placed in reserve, while another was marked for transfer to reserve status; this instruction was reversed prior to 2008, and the two vessels were tasked with supporting border protection operations. Two of the minehunters were decommissioned in 2018.

In 1993, the Department of Defence issued a request for tender for six coastal minehunters to replace the problematic s, of which four had been cancelled after the first two demonstrated problems with their sonar array and seakeeping capability. According to an article in Jane's International Defence Review published just before the tender was opened, three joint ventures between an Australian and a European company were expected to submit designs: Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA with the , Australian Submarine Corporation and Karlskronavarvet (later Kockums) with a lengthened version of the , and AMECON and Vosper Thornycroft with the .

The design of the Huon class is based on the Italian ; specifically the second run of eight ships known as the Gaeta class. Each ship has a full load displacement of 732 tons (slightly greater than the Gaetas), is long, has a beam of , and a draught of The minehunters' main propulsion system is a single Fincantieri GMT BL230 BN diesel motor, which provides to a single controllable pitch propeller, allowing the ship to reach Maximum range is at , and the vessels have an endurance of 19 days.

All six vessels are based at , which serves as the home base of the Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Group. HMAS Huon was deactivated in early 2006, but was reactivated later in the year, while HMAS Hawkesburys planned deactivation was cancelled so the ships could be used as patrol boats. Apart from routine service in Australian and regional waters, a number of vessels were deployed to the Solomon Islands as part of the Australian led RAMSI peacekeeping mission there. Operating as part of Operation Anode from 2003, vessels deployed have included Hawkesbury, Diamantina, Yarra and Gascoyne. As of 2008, Huon and Hawkesbury were taking turns supporting border security operations. Both minehunters were decommissioned on 31 October 2018.

Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, the 2009 Department of Defence white paper, proposed replacing the Huons, along with the RAN's patrol and hydrographic vessels, with a single class of multi role offshore combatant vessels (OCVs). The new vessels, which could displace up to 2,000 tonnes and be equipped for helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicle operations, will use a modular mission payload system to change between roles as required. In 2020 the Royal Australian Navy announced that the Huon class may be replaced with a modified version of the Arafura class offshore patrol vessel.