Australian Navy HMAS Stuart frigate conducts successfully fire of two Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

According to a video released by the Australian Navy on September 1, 2020, HMAS Stuart Anzac Class frigate of the Australian Navy successfully fired two Harpoon anti-ship missiles and coordinated the missile firings of three other ships during one of RIMPAC’s best-known serials called the SINKEX, where participants sink a decommissioned warship.
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HMAS Stuart Anzac Class frigate of the Australian Navy successfully fired two Harpoon anti-ship missiles during RIMPAC 2020. (Picture source Australian Navy)

Two of the Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm MH-60R Romeo helicopters embarked in HMA Ships Hobart and Arunta also fired Hellfire missiles during the training serial on 29 August.

Australian HMA Ships Hobart, Stuart, Arunta and Sirius, which have been part of the Regional Presence Deployment through Southeast Asia and the Pacific, will take part in Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2020 (RIMPAC), the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held in August.

This will be the first RIMPAC an RAN Hobart-class guided missile destroyers has taken part in. Ten nations, 22 surface ships, one submarine, multiple aircraft, and approximately 5,300 personnel will participate. This year’s exercise includes forces from Australia, Brunei, Canada, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States.

The HMAS Stuart (III) is the fourth of eight Anzac Class frigates built by Tenix Defence Systems at Williamstown, Victoria for the Royal Australian Navy. The design is based on the German Meko 200 frigate. The ship is a long-range frigate capable of air defence, surface and undersea warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction. Stuart's combat capabilities have been significantly improved under the Anti-Ship Missile Defence upgrade program, a world class program that provides an enhanced sensor and weapons systems capability.

The HMAS Stuart main armament consists of one Mark 45 capable of firing 20 rounds per minute, ship launched Mark 46 torpedoes and a Mark 41 vertical launch system for the Evolved Sea Sparrow missile. Stuart also has eight anti-ship/land attack canister launched harpoon anti-ship missiles. The ship's other defence systems include the Nulka active missile decoy system, offboard chaff and a torpedo countermeasures system.

The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security).