Adelaide’s second Air Warfare Destroyer hits the water
ADELAIDE shipbuilders have hit another shipbuilding milestone, this morning handing over the second of three Air Warfare Destroyers.
ADELAIDE shipbuilders have hit another shipbuilding milestone, this morning handing over the second of three Air Warfare Destroyers.
The AWDs are the most lethal warships Australia has ever produced.
The guided missile destroyer NUSHIP Brisbane has been delivered to Defence and is off to Sydney for its final sea trials.
After initial budget and timeline issues, the $9 billion AWD program has had a dramatic turnaround in productivity.
AWD Alliance general manager Paul Evans said the Alliance had carried over all lessons learned to “deliver better outcomes, faster outcomes, create more skills, more efficiency and ultimately deliver a better capability”.
“The AWD program has proven that Australia is able to build and integrate ships from the ground up — evolving our understanding as we go, and generating further improvements along the way,” he said.
Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said the AWDs would be “the most potent warships ever operated by the Royal Australian Navy”.
“By using a combination of Australian and globally proven technologies, these highly capable warships will contribute directly to our maritime security and allow us to work even closer with our allies,” he said.
Mr Pyne said the program had laid the foundation for an industry that would build the $35 billion Future Frigates.
The Brisbane’s sister ships are the Hobart (delivered last year) and the Sydney (to be delivered next year).
The 7000-tonne ships are armed with missiles as well as missile decoys, and a surveillance helicopter.