Anzac class frigate

HMAS Warramunga in 2010
Class overview
Name:	Anzac
Builders:	AMECON
Operators:	Royal Australian Navy (RAN)  Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN)
Preceded by:	River-class destroyer escort (RAN) Leander-class frigate (RNZN)
Built:	1993–2006
In commission:	1996–present (RAN) 1997–present (RNZN)
Planned:	12
Completed:	10
Active:	10
General characteristics as designed
Type:	Frigate
Displacement:	3,600 t (3,500 long tons; 4,000 short tons) full load displacement
Length:	109 m (358 ft) waterline length 118 m (387 ft) length overall
Beam:	14.8 m (49 ft)
Draught:	4.35 m (14.3 ft) at full load
Propulsion:	Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG): 1 × General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbine, 30,172 hp (22,499 kW) 2 × MTU 12V1163 TB83 diesel engines, 8,840 hp (6,590 kW) each 2 × controllable-pitch propellers
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement:	22 officers and 141 sailors
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar: Raytheon SPS-49(V)8 ANZ aerial search and long-range surveillance Saab 9LV 453 Ceros 200 Target Indication Radar for air and surface search Kelvin Hughes SharpEyeTM I-Bandl Saab 9LV 453 unit for fire control Sonar: ThomsonSintra Spherion B hull-mounted bow sonar Petrel Mine and Obstacle Avoidance Sonar system Fitted for but not with towed-array sonar Other: Cossor AIMS Mark XII identification-friend-or-foe system
Electronic warfare & decoys:	Mark 36 SRBOC launchers SLQ-25A towed torpedo decoy Nulka decoy launchers Rascal Thorn modified Sceptre-A electronic support measures Telefunken PST-1720 Telegon 10 radar intercept unit
Armament:	Fitted: 1 × 5-inch 54 calibre Mark 45 Mod 2 dual purpose gun 1 × 8-cell Mark 41 Mod 5 vertical launch system, firing RIM-7 Sea Sparrow 2 × 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) machine guns 2 × Mark 32 3-tube torpedo launchers, firing Mark 46 torpedoes 1 × Vulcan Phalanx CIWS (RNZN only) Fitted for but not with: 1 × close-in weapons system (RAN only) 2 × 4-canister Harpoon missile launchers 2nd Mark 41 VLS
Aircraft carried:	1 helicopter: Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk (RAN), Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite (RNZN)
Notes:	For upgrades and current configurations, see the sections on "Australian modifications" and "New Zealand modifications", or the individual ship articles

The Anzac class (also identified as the ANZAC class and the MEKO 200 ANZ type) is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). During the 1980s, the RAN began plans to replace the River-class destroyer escorts with a mid-capability patrol frigate, and settled on the idea of modifying a proven foreign design for Australian conditions. Around the same time, the RNZN was seeking to replace their Leander-class frigates while maintaining blue-water capabilities. A souring of relations between New Zealand and the United States of America in relation to New Zealand's nuclear-free zone and the ANZUS security treaty prompted New Zealand to seek improved ties with other nations, particularly Australia. As both nations were seeking warships of similar capabilities, the decision was made in 1987 to collaborate on their acquisition. The project name (and later, the class name) is taken from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of the First World War.

Twelve ship designs were tendered in 1986. By 1989, the project had selected a proposal by Germany's Blohm + Voss, based on their MEKO 200 design, to be built in Australia by AMECON at Williamstown, Victoria. The modular design of the frigates allowed sections to be constructed at Whangarei, New Zealand and Newcastle, New South Wales in addition to Williamstown. The RAN ordered eight ships, while the RNZN ordered two and had the option to add two more. The frigate acquisition was controversial and widely opposed in New Zealand, and as a result, the additional ships were not ordered.