1980s saw an attempted upgrade to the minesweeper fleet with the development of the s, with the first two ships of the class, HMA Ships and assigned to Waterhen. The Bays did not enter service until 1993, and problems with their sonar and seakeeping ability saw the other four ships of the class cancelled and forced the RAN to rely on a force of minesweeper auxiliaries converted from acquired civilian vessels and also based at Waterhen until the development of the s in the late 1990s. In 1994, the same year the Huon class project began, it was recognised by the RAN that the facilities at Waterhen needed to be upgraded. Over a period from December 1994 to December 1996, the entire base was levelled, with new buildings, wharves, and facilities installed. The upgrade cost A$70 million and was completed eight months ahead of schedule. Facilities and operational units As of 2020, Waterhen is home to the Australian Navy Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Group, which consists of: Clearance Diving Team One Four s (in reserve since October 2011 – Decommissioned as off 2016 – No longer located there) (in reserve since October 2011 – Decommissioned as of 2016 – No longer located there) Several minor war vessels and commercially operated support vessels Diving Tender Seal Navigation training vessel Multi-role aircraft training vessel In addition, with the introduction of the Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Dock into the RAN, the ships associated Landing Craft have been based there, since their introduction in 2014. Maintenance and the training program for the crews to operate the craft is also housed at the base. LHD Landing Craft School 12x LLC LHD Landing Craft -LCM-1E L4401 -12 Waterhen is also used as a base for minor war vessels visiting or operating temporarily from Sydney. The first season of the television drama series Sea Patrol, which was primarily set on a , was filmed at Waterhen and the base was used to represent a fictional Australian naval base. Waterhen was used for the filming of several 'ashore' scenes, and was host to the decommissioned , which was used to film scenes of the patrol boat docked at base. Gallery See also List of Royal Australian Navy bases References External links HMAS Waterhen official website Waterhen Fleet Base East Military installations established in 1943 1943 establishments in Australia Military installations in New South Wales Waterhen, HMAS