The Arafura OPV: A Ship in Search of a Mission

Australia will soon commission its first of six Arafura class OPVs, but these vessels have been called "an inefficient use of resources" by recent government reviews into the nation's surface fleet, but at 1,600 tonnes, they're the only decently sized surface vessels that Australia can expect to commission before the end of the decade. The Arafuras may never be true corvettes, nor much of a match for the warships in our region, but despite that, could anything be done to improve their utility to the RAN? How could the navy tweak these vessels to make them relevant to the challenges that Australia faces today? Chapters: 5:35 - Option 1 - The Patrol Boat Base Case 11:50 - Option 2 - Multirole non-combatant 20:47 - Option 3a - Upgun and equip for combat - Light anti drone 31:00 - Option 3b - Upgun and equip for combat - Heavy anti-ship