HMAS Warramunga (FFH 152) is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of ten frigates built for the Australian and New Zealand navies, Warramunga was laid down by Tenix Defence in 1997 and commissioned in 2001. During her career, the frigate has operated in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Catalyst, and undertaken anti-piracy operations off Somalia. Warramunga underwent the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade during 2014. She is active as of February 2026.

Name and crest

The present frigate inherited its name from the destroyer (1942–1959), the name being from the Warramungu First Nations people of the Alice Springs area of the Northern Territory.

The ship's badge includes a First Nations male about to throw a boomerang, upon a yellow desert hill, into a blue sky. Beneath is the motto "Courage in difficulties". Tenders were requested by the Anzac Ship Project at the end of 1986, with 12 ship designs (including an airship) submitted. By August 1987, the tenders were narrowed down in October to Blohm + Voss's MEKO 200 design, the M class (later Karel Doorman class) offered by Royal Schelde, and a scaled-down Type 23 frigate proposed by Yarrow Shipbuilders. In 1989, the Australian government announced that Melbourne-based shipbuilder AMECON (which became Tenix Defence) would build the modified MEKO 200 design.

The Anzacs are based on Blohm + Voss' MEKO 200 PN (or Vasco da Gama class) frigates, modified to meet Australian and New Zealand specifications and maximise the use of locally built equipment. The ships are long at the waterline, and long overall, with a beam of , and a full load draught of . The standard ship's company of an Anzac consists of 22 officers and 141 sailors. They were also designed for but not with a Mark 15 Phalanx close-in weapons system (two Mini Typhoons fitted when required from 2005 onwards), two quad-canister Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers (which were installed across the RAN vessels from 2005 onwards), and a second 8-cell Mark 41 VLS (which has not been added). The Australian Anzacs used a single Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter; plans to replace them with Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprites were cancelled in 2008 due to ongoing problems. Instead, the S-70B-2 was replaced with the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk by late 2017.

Warramunga was laid down at Williamstown, Victoria on 26 July 1997. Had the New Zealand government exercised their option for two more frigates, Warramunga was one of the ships that would have been designated for the RNZN.

Operational history

thumb|left|Warramunga in 2010

The captain in 2002 was Commander Ian Middleton, before being taken over by Commander John Hielscher.

On 31 July 2006, Warramunga departed Fleet Base West for her first deployment to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Catalyst, taking over duties from . While on station in the Gulf, Warramunga conducted 150 boardings and security patrols, 320 flying hours were logged by her embarked Seahawk helicopter, and 450 investigative queries of merchant vessels were made. On 29 May 2009, it was announced that Warramunga would be re-tasked with protecting civilian vessels from piracy in Somali waters. The ship was assigned to Combined Task Force 151, which was tasked with preventing pirate attacks on commercial vessels in the shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa and Somalia. During RIMPAC, the frigate participated in the sinking of the decommissioned amphibious assault ship , firing several rounds from her main gun.

Warramunga was the fourth ship of the class to undergo the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade. The upgrade occurred across 2014 and early 2015, the upgrade included the fitting of CEA Technologies' CEAFAR and CEAMOUNT phased array radars, on new masts, a Vampir NG Infrared Search and Track system, and Sharpeye Navigational Radar Systems, along with improvements to the operations room equipment and layout.

In November 2017, Warramunga deployed to the Middle East as part of a combined Australian and Canadian task force. The ship carried out patrol activities in the Arabian Sea until late May 2018, intercepting and boarding 13 vessels suspected of drug trafficking. A total of 28 tonnes of heroin and hashish were seized by Warramungas crew during these operations.

Warramunga participated in RIMPAC 2022.

On 7 April 2024, Warramunga conducted a joint patrol in the South China Sea with BRP Antonio Luna and BRP Valentin Diaz of the Philippine Navy, USS Mobile of the US Navy, and JS Akebono of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. This marked the first multinational patrol between the nations.

HMAS Warramunga participated at the International Fleet Review 2026 held at Visakapatanam in India in February 2026.

Citations

References

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  • Royal Australian Navy webpage for HMAS Warramunga (II))