The Royal Australian Navy’s first Aegis-equipped air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart is set to officially enter service in a ceremony in Sydney, on September 23.
Starting construction in January 2010, Hobart is entering service seven years later as the third Australian destroyer to bear the name Hobart.
The previous two were a former Royal Navy Leander class light cruiser (Hobart I) and an improved Charles F Adams class guided missile destroyer (Hobart II).
Hobart is also the first of three destroyers in her class to be delivered by AWD Alliance. The other two ships will be called Brisbane (III) and Sydney (V).
Hobart was launched in May 2015 and started builder’s sea trials in September 2016.
Her sea acceptance trials involved close interactions with a range of fighter aircraft, surface ships and helicopters, as well as other civilian platforms in a range of simulated scenarios.
Hobart is 146.7 metres long, has a top speed of 28 knots (52km/h), a range of about 5000 nautical miles and room for more than 200 crew.
The ship carries a range of weapons, detection and electronic warfare systems onboard, which include an Aegis threat tracking system, SPQ Horizon Search Radar, 48 vertical launch missile cells, a 5″ gun for coastal operations and two quad launchers of anti-ship HARPOON weapon systems.
The AWDs have also been equipped with anti-surface, anti-submarine and naval gunfire capabilities.
The next-gen destroyers are part of an $8 billion collaboration between ASC, Raytheon Australia and the Australian Department of Defence. The ships are being built at Techport Australia, about 15km northwest of Adelaide.