Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN)[4] Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of Defence (MINDEF) and the Chief of Defence Force (CDF). The Department of Defence as part of the Australian Public Service administers the ADF.[5]
Royal Australian Navy
1 March 1901
14,745 Permanent personnel
4,607 Reserve personnel
32 commissioned ships; 11 non-commissioned ships[1]To fight and win at sea.[2]
10 July
Governor-General David Hurley as representative of Charles III as King of Australia[3]
General Angus Campbell
Vice Admiral David Johnston
Vice Admiral Mark Hammond
Rear Admiral Jonathan Earley
Rear Admiral Christopher Smith
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The navy was formed in 1901 as the Commonwealth Naval Forces (CNF) through the amalgamation of the colonial navies of Australia following the federation of Australia. Although it was originally intended for local defence, it became increasingly responsible for regional defence as the British Empire started to diminish its influence in the South Pacific.
The Royal Australian Navy was initially a green-water navy, as the Royal Navy provided a blue-water force to the Australian Squadron, which the Australian and New Zealand governments helped to fund; the squadron was assigned to the Australia Station. This period lasted until 1913, when naval ships purchased from Britain arrived, although the British Admiralty continued to provide blue-water defence capability in the Pacific and Indian Oceans up to the early years of the Second World War.[6]
During its history, the Royal Australian Navy has participated in a number of major wars, including the First and Second World Wars, Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation and the Vietnam War. Today, the RAN consists of 43 commissioned vessels, 4 non-commissioned vessels and over 16,000 personnel. The navy is one of the largest and most sophisticated naval forces in the South Pacific region, with a significant presence in the Indian Ocean and worldwide operations in support of military campaigns and peacekeeping missions.
Structure[edit]
Command structure[edit]
The strategic command structure of the RAN was overhauled during the New Generation Navy changes.[25] The RAN is commanded through Naval Headquarters (NHQ) in Canberra.[26] NHQ is responsible for implementing policy decisions handed down from the Department of Defence and for overseeing tactical and operational issues that are the purview of the subordinate commands.[27]
Beneath NHQ are two subordinate commands:
As of June 2023, the RAN has 14,745 permanent full-time personnel, 172 gap-year personnel, and 4,607 reserve personnel.[39] The permanent full-time trained force consists of 3,070 commissioned officers, and 9,695 enlisted personnel.[40] While male personnel made up 75.9% of the permanent full-time force, while female personnel made up 24%. The RAN has the second-highest percentage of women in the permanent forces, compared to the RAAF's 26.6% and the Army's 15.3%.[40] Throughout the 2022-23 financial year 1,141 enlisted in the RAN on a permanent basis while 1,354 left, representing a net loss of 213 personnel. [39]
The following are some of the current senior Royal Australian Navy officers:
The RAN currently has forces deployed on seven major operations:[86]
