The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) third and final Hobart-class air warfare destroyer (AWD), Nuship Sydney, has been launched at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide.
Nuship Sydney has been built by the AWD Alliance and is equipped with advanced technologies that enable it to defend a Task Group from a range of air, surface and submarine threats.
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The AWD Alliance includes ASC, Raytheon Australia, Navantia Australia and the Australian Department of Defence.
US Navy chief vice admiral Tim Barrett said: “In the last three years we have seen the launch of the first two air warfare destroyers, HMAS Hobart and NUSHIP Brisbane, and with the launch today of Sydney, the class is now complete.
“They are powerful, elegant new warships that will serve Australia as a key part of our fleet for decades to come, a fleet that will be strong, agile, intelligent, and lethal.”
Nuship Sydney is one of the first Australian Navy vessels to be equipped with the US’s Aegis weapon system.
The new technology is expected to improve the navy’s overall warfighting capability, while allowing it to work more closely with the nation’s allies.
Navantia Australia chairman Warren King said: “The Hobart-class destroyers not only deliver revolutionary air defence capabilities against advanced aircraft and cruise missile threats, but these formidable warships are also providing the navy with unsurpassed anti-submarine warfare capabilities.”
The launch of the latest RAN ship marks a 60% enhancement in productivity compared to the class’s first vessel, HMAS Hobart, since the implementation of the government-led reform initiative.
Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne noted that more than 5,000 workers have worked directly on the AWD programme over the last ten years to construct and integrate the three advanced RAN warships.
The AWD Alliance is scheduled to deliver the second Hobart-class vessel, AWD Brisbane, to the Australian Navy in the coming months, while Sydney will be delivered next year, said Pyne.
