Australia reaches first steel cutting milestone for first Hunter-class frigate, test production systems

 

A CGI of the Hunter-class frigate, which is based on BAE Systems' Type 26 Global Combat Ship design. modified to suit RAN requirements. Photo c/o RAN.


BAE Systems Maritime Australia has reached a milestone in the construction and delivery of the next generation Hunter-class frigates to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), as it conducted the first steel cutting for the shipbuilding program.


The milestone is also part of the prototyping stage of the program, which involves construction of 5 prototype ship blocks to test its production systems, develop its facilities, and ensure its manpower are trained to build the frigates.

Prototyping stage is expected to continue until 2023, with the construction phase for the first ship of the class is seen to start by 2022 at the Osborne Naval Shipyard - South in South Australia.

The new Hunter-class frigates are the centrepiece of the Australian government's A$183 billion (US$138 billion) Naval Shipbuilding Plan, a program that involves the construction of around 70 new ships for the RAN, and employing 15,000 Australian workers over the course of several years. 

The Hunter-class frigates, which are based on BAE Systems' Type 26 Global Combat Ship frigate designed for the British Royal Navy (RN), involves the construction of 9 new advanced frigates, considered to be among the most advanced once the first ship is commissioned with the RAN starting in the late 2020s.

The frigates are designed to have a length of around 150 meters, with a maximum full load displacement of around 8,800 tons, and will be powered a Rolls Royce MT30 gas turbine, 2 electric motors, and 4 MTU high speed diesel generators in a Combined Diesel-Electric and Gas (CODLOG) configuration. 

The ships will also be equipped with the Aegis combat system, and armed with a 32-cell Mk. 41 vertical launching system with Standard SM-2 and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), 8 anti-ship missiles, two triple torpedo launchers, a 127mm Mk. 45 Mod. 4 naval gun, two 30mm close range guns, and two 20mm Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS). 

The frigates are expected to replace the existing German-designed ANZAC-class frigates which have been in service with the RAN since 1996.



[1] Australian Department of Defence
[2] BAE Systems Australia
[3]
Defence-Aerospace.com

Australia reaches first steel cutting milestone for first Hunter-class frigate, test production systems Australia reaches first steel cutting milestone for first Hunter-class frigate, test production systems Reviewed by Asia Pacific Defense Journal on December 22, 2020 Rating: 5

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