Balikpapan-class

Summary

Description

The Balikpapan class consists of eight heavy landing craft, designated as Landing Craft, Heavy (LCH). These vessels were originally built for the Australian Army by Walkers Limited in the early 1970s but were later operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) following a reorganization of watercraft responsibilities in the Australian military. Seven of the craft were commissioned into RAN service in 1973 and 1974, with the lead ship Balikpapan being transferred from the army to the navy. As Papua New Guinea approached independence in 1975, two of the vessels, HMPNGS Salamaua and HMPNGS Buna, were transferred to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).

The vessels have served in various operations including support for Operation Navy Help Darwin in 1974–1975, the peacekeeping Operation Bel Isi in Bougainville from 1997-2003, INTERFET operations in East Timor in 1999-2000, and RAMSI operations in the Solomon Islands from 2003. By the 2010s, the six remaining RAN vessels were decommissioned, with some transferred to other countries. The former Labuan was transferred as a training ship to PNGDF in 2014, while Salamaua and Buna were decommissioned in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Moreover, in response to Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, Australia donated Brunei and Tarakan to the Philippine Navy in 2015 for sealift capability improvement. The Philippines purchased three more vessels from Australia in 2016, strengthening its amphibious forces.

Designed to replace older LSM-1-class landing ship medium and ALC 50 landing craft which had been utilized by the Australian Army, the Balikpapan-class landing craft feature a length of 44.5 meters and a displacement of 320 tons when standard, increasing to 517 tons when fully laden. The original powerplants were two General Motors Detroit 12–71 diesel motors, which were later replaced with Caterpillar 3406E diesel engines between 2005 and 2007 for those vessels still active in Australian service. The craft have a crew complement of 16, including two officers, and are equipped with limited sensor suites featuring Racal Decca Bridgemaster I-band navigational radars. Armament consists of two 12.7-millimeter machine guns for self-defense. The craft can carry a significant payload, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, trucks, or amphibious cargo vehicles, with varying operational range depending on the cargo weight. They have a flat, box-like keel which causes considerable rolling in rough conditions, affecting their long-range capabilities.

Technical specifications