A Common Platformfor a New AO, AOR & Sealift Support Ship

摘要

The Royal Australian Navy has a long history of operational success that is based upon the professionalism of our people and the capabilities of our equipment. This success has been, for the most part, as a result of the capacity of the RAN to deploy into distant theatres and support our forces while they are there. As we look into the future, this need to be deployable is not going to change.1 However, the costs, both in financial terms and in human resources, are going to become increasingly more difficult to support. One way to reduce rising costs might be to adopt a policy of commonality wherever possible. Recent discussions concerning this approach have focussed on the proposed Offshore Combatant Vessels.2