Australia’s second AWD completes Cooperative Engagement Capability tests

The Royal Australian Navy’s second air warfare destroyer HMAS Brisbane recently carried out a live missile firing using the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) and remote sensor data from a US Navy destroyer.

The missile firing was part of the Australian destroyer’s US East Coast combat systems tests which all ships in the class undergo before integrating into the fleet.

The ship entered service in late 2018 and arrived to the US as early as August this year to test its combat management and weapon systems.

HMAS Hobart, the lead ship in the class, completed the three-month procedure that is aimed at achieving a sustainable level of combat and weapon system readiness in December 2018.

Australian minister for defense Linda Reynolds said the trials which were held in the US over the past month, marked a ground-breaking milestone for Australia.

“This missile firing demonstrates the very highest levels of interoperability between our navies,” Minister Reynolds said.

“It reaffirms the game changing technology that the Aegis combat system brings to our navy and the advanced capability of the Australian-built Hobart-class destroyers.”

Earlier this year, HMAS Brisbane demonstrated further integration capabilities with the US by working with F-35A fighter jets during exercise Diamond Shield.

Australia’s AWD destroyers are 146.7 meters long, have a top speed of 28 knots (52km/h), a range of about 5,000 nautical miles and room for more than 200 crew.

They carry a range of weapons, detection and electronic warfare systems onboard, which include an Aegis threat tracking system, SPQ Horizon Search Radar, 48-cell vertical launch systems, a 5″ gun for coastal operations and two quad launchers of Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

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