Operational History
Newcastle was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 19 December 1999 to 26 January 2000.
During 2005, Newcastle was deployed to the Persian Gulf. Newcastle and HMAS Parramatta were the first RAN ships to be fitted with two M2HB .50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts; now a standard theatre fit for all RAN frigates deployed to the Persian Gulf.
At the start of November 2006, Newcastle was one of three Australian warships sent to Fiji during the leadup to the 2006 coup d'état by Fijian military forces against Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Newcastle was the first vessel on station, and was later joined by HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Success. The three vessels were to be used in the event of an evacuation of Australian citizens and nationals. It did not prove necessary to conduct an evacuation and Newcastle returned to Australia in late December 2006.
On the morning of 13 March 2009, Newcastle was one of seventeen warships involved in a ceremonial fleet entry and fleet review in Sydney Harbour, the largest collection of RAN ships since the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. The frigate was one of the thirteen ships involved in the ceremonial entry through Sydney Heads, and anchored in the harbour for the review.
Following an overhaul of the RAN battle honours system, completed in March 2010, Newcastle's service was recognised with two honours: "East Timor 1999-2000" and "Persian Gulf 2002-03". In April 2010, Newcastle was presented with the RAN Gloucester Cup, recognising her as the most efficient ship during 2009. During July and August 2010, Newcastle was one of three RAN ships to participate in the RIMPAC 2010 multinational exercise.
Read more about this topic: HMAS Newcastle (FFG 06)
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