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| HMAS Hobart shortly after launch |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
Australian shipbuilders confirm that the keel for the third Hobart-class destroyer was laid down on November 19.
The keel for the third and final air warfare destroyer of the Hobart-class was laid down on November 19, AWD Alliance reports. The third destroyer, HMAS Sydney, is the last of three ships currently being built for the Royal Australian Navy under the direction of the Alliance — the project coordinator responsible for managing the works of shipbuilder ASC, mission systems integrator Raytheon Australia, and the Australian Department of Defense .
The press release also notes that initial combat systems activation on the first destroyer of the Hobart-class, the HMAS Hobart, has begun. “We are proud of this further progress. Production is now more than 70 percent complete across the project and significant productivity improvements are being realized from ship to ship. We have come a long way since our first keel-laying ceremony was held three years ago,” emphasized AWD Alliance CEO, Rod Equid.
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| HMAS Hobart foreground & HMAS Brisbane background left |
The lead ship, HMAS Hobart, is slated for completion in June 2017, followed by the HMAS Brisbane in September 2018, and the HMAS Sydney in March 2020. Total costs for the new class of air warfare destroyers are estimated to be over $8 billion. It is the largest defense procurement project ever undertaken by Australia to date.
Read the full story at The Diplomat