to construct.Kerr, Patrol boats shake down fuel faults During the 2004 federal election, the Howard government promised to acquire two more patrol boats to provide a dedicated patrol force for the North West Shelf Venture located off the north-west coast of Australia.Wertheim (ed.), The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, p. 22 These were ordered in 2005. The order was placed in June 2006. Design and construction All fourteen boats were constructed by Austal at its shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia. Lead ship was commissioned into the RAN in June 2005. Two other patrol boats were delivered to the RAN in 2005, six in 2006, and five in 2007, with the final ship in the class, , delivered in October 2007 and commissioned in February 2008. At one stage, six vessels were being constructed simultaneously. Each patrol boat has a length of , a beam of , a draught of , and a standard displacement of 300 tons. The hull is of the semi-displacement vee type, and is fabricated from aluminum alloy. The ship is designed to a combination of Det Norske Veritas standards for high-speed light craft and RAN requirements: much effort went into avoiding attempts to overengineer the Armidales or turn them into 'miniature warships'. The Armidales can travel at a maximum speed of , and are driven by two propeller shafts, each connected to an MTU 4000 16V diesel engine, providing . The ships have a range of at , allowing them to patrol the waters around the distant territories of Australia, including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island. The Armidale class has demonstrated an improved seakeeping ability over the preceding Fremantle class: the Armidales are longer, 85 tons heavier, and have hydraulic stabiliser fins and trim tabs incorporated into the design, allowing them to survive conditions up to Sea State 9. The vessels are designed for standard patrols of 21 days, with a maximum endurance of 42 days. Weapons and systems The main armament of the Armidale class is a Rafael Typhoon stabilised gun mount fitted with an M242 Bushmaster autocannon. This cannon has a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute, and is controlled remotely from the bridge. Two machine guns are also carried. Boarding operations are performed by two , waterjet propelled rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIB), which carry ten people (a fully equipped, eight-strong boarding party, and two boat