RAN meaning in Military and Defence ?

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force. The Navy is commanded by the Chief of Navy (CN), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) who commands the ADF; the current CN is Vice Admiral Michael Noonan. The CN is also directly responsible to the Minister of Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Navy.

Formed in 1901, as the Commonwealth Naval Forces, through the amalgamation of the Australian colonial navies following the Federation of Australia. Although it was originally intended for local defence, it became increasingly responsible for the defence of the region as the United Kingdom started to diminish its forces in the Pacific.

The Royal Australian Navy was initially a green-water navy, and where the Royal Navy provided a blue-water force to the Australian Squadron, which the Australian and New Zealand governments helped to fund, and that was assigned to the Australia Station. This period lasted until 1913, when naval ships purchased from Britain arrived. Though the British Admiralty continued to provide blue-water defence capability in the Pacific up to the early years of the Second World War.

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, 3 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.