HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06)

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Career (Royal Australian Navy)
HMAS Newcastle in 2004
Namesake:	City of Newcastle
Builder:	AMECON
Laid down:	21 July 1989
Launched:	21 February 1992
Commissioned:	11 December 1993
Homeport:	Fleet Base East
Motto:	"Enterprise"
Nickname:	FFG-44 (US hull designation during construction)
Status:	Active
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Adelaide class guided missile frigate
Displacement:	4,100 tons
Length:	138 metres (453 ft)
Beam:	14.3 metres (47 ft)
Draught:	7.5 metres (25 ft)
Propulsion:	2 × General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines providing 41,000 hp (490 kW)
Speed:	29 knots (54 km/h)
Range:	4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Complement:	184 + aircrew
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-49 radar, Mk 92 fire control system, AN/SPS-55 radar, AN/SQS-56 sonar
Armament:	1 × single-arm Mk 13 Missile Launcher for Harpoon and SM-1MR missiles, 2 × triple Mark 32 ASW torpedo tubes, 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm naval gun, 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried:	2 x S-70B Seahawk

HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06), named for the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, the largest provincial city in Australia, is an Adelaide class guided missile armed frigate of the Royal Australian Navy.

[edit] Construction

Newcastle was laid down by AMECON at Williamstown in Victoria, launched on 21 February 1992 and commissioned on 11 December 1993. Unlike the first four Adelaide class frigates, Newcastle was not constructed in the United States of America and therefore does not possess a US Navy hull number.

[edit] Operational history

At the start of November 2006, Newcastle was one of three Australian warships sent to Fiji during the leadup to the 2006 coup d'état by Fijian military forces against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Newcastle was the first vessel on station, and was later joined by HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Success. The three vessels were to be used in the event of an evacuation of Australian citizens and nationals.^[1] It did not prove necessary to conduct an evacuation and Newcastle returned to Australia in late December 2006.