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The Australian Defence Force has rearmed the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax Class frigate HMCS Vancouver during the first rearmament of its kind to occur in the Western Australian sea resort town of Broome.
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This action is considered to be one of the first times an ally other than the United States of America has conducted a vertical launching system (VLS) munitions rearmament activity in Australia. VLS is the main launch system for missiles fired from modern warships.
In Broome, which has a population of around 14,000 people, a combined team of Canadian and Australian Defence personnel, along with Port of Broome employees, carefully loaded the missiles into the VLS on board HMCS Vancouver.
The delivery and loading of the missile cannisters was the final piece of months of planning and coordination across both the ADF, Canadian Armed Forces, the Port of Broome and numerous civilian contractors.
Similar activities took place just days prior when American Arleigh Burke Class destroyer USS Dewey and Australian Anzac Class frigate HMAS Warramunga rearmed their respective VLS in the Port of Darwin.
Royal Australian Navy weapons electrical engineering officer Commander Matthew Wernas said the rearmament in Broome was the result of significant preparation.
“There are months of planning that goes into making sure that this type of activity goes smoothly,” CMDR Wernas said.
“Each country does its own rearming activities within their own country, but making sure when we work together that there is a common way of doing a rearmament like the one in Broome is important.”
Deputy Director Navy Logistics Futures Commander Dan Turner said there were significant benefits for the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Canadian Navy.
“The ability to rearm in both Darwin and Broome for the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Navy shows that as a coalition, we can together operate in multiple locations in the north of Australia,” CMDR Turner said.
“Specifically, a rearmament such as Broome provides another option for rearming rather than having to go back to home bases or further down to Southern Australia and enhances our ability to operate in the Indo-Pacific.”
Commanding Officer Vancouver Commander Tyson Bergmann said a strong bond existed between Canada and Australia.
“Canada and Australia have a long history of working well together and developing our interoperability,” Cdr Bergmann said.
“We relied on that interoperability to execute complex rearmament thousands of miles from home in a place where the Royal Canadian Navy had never rearmed vertical launch systems.
“This successful forward rearmament has only strengthened the bond that we have been working on for decades, not just for Canada and Australia, but also for our allies by confirming a proof-of-concept so far from home and in the Indo-Pacific."
Vancouver departed its home port of Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada, in June and participated in Exercise Kakadu, which is a Royal Australian Navy-led exercise that provides for partners such as Canada, an opportunity to undertake multinational maritime training activities.
