Commissioned on 15 July 2006, HMAS Albany is an Armidale Class patrol boat built by Austal Ships, Fremantle. Armidale Class patrol boats are highly capable and versatile warships which are able to conduct a wide variety of missions and tasks.

Armidale Class and Cape Class patrol boats are Navy's principal contribution to the nation's fisheries protection, immigration, customs and law enforcement operations. The vessels work hand-in-hand with other government agencies as part of the Australian Border Force. In the event of war they would be tasked to control the waters close to the Australian mainland. The Armidale Class provides Navy with an improved capability to intercept and apprehend vessels in a greater range of sea conditions than the earlier patrol boat classes, Fremantle and Attack.

Patrol boats are a primary enabler of the Australian Defence Force contribution to Operation Sovereign Borders, a whole of government effort to protect Australia's borders and offshore interests. In association with Border Force, Australian Fisheries and Australian Federal Police, these operations protect against:

  • unauthorised entry
  • breaches of customs, immigration and drugs legislation
  • illegal activity
  • risks to the integrity of national fish-stocks, marine environments and other natural resources.

When protecting Australia’s borders, crews are employed on a range of constabulary duties involving tracking, intercepting, stopping and boarding other vessels, and sometimes arresting their crews and seizing cargo.

Specifications

HMAS Albany
Armidale Class
Type
Patrol Boat, General (PB)
Pennant
P86
International Callsign
VKDG
Motto
Stand Tall
Home Port
HMAS Coonawarra
Builder
Austal Ships, Fremantle
Commissioned
15 July 2006
Dimensions & Displacement
Displacement standard: 300 tonnes (295.3 (uk) t) (330.7 t (short)) (300000 kg)
Length overall: 56.8 m (186.35 ft)
Beam overall: 9.7 m (31.82 ft)
Draught hull: 2.7 m (8.86 ft)
Performance
Speed top speed: 25 kt (46.3 km/h) (28.8 mph)
Range standard: 3,000 n miles (5,556 km) (3452.3 miles) at 12 kt (22.2 km/h) (13.8 mph)
Complement
Crew crew: 21
Propulsion
Machinery 2 MTU 4000 16V diesels; 6,225 hp (4.64 MW); 2 shafts
Armament
Guns
  • One 25 mm Rafael M242 Bushmaster
  • Two 12.7mm machine guns
Electronic Countermeasures RESM: BAE Systems Prism III; intercept.
Radars Surface search/navigation: Bridgemaster E; E/F/I-band.
Electro-optic Systems Rafael Toplite optronic director.