Page 34 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2019

MARITIME
CONOPS
“The Hunter class ships will also have the same baseline air defence capability as the Hobart destroyers.”
The Navy’s second DDG, HMAS Brisbane will undergo a similar trial off the west coast of the US later this year and once the third ship (HMAS Sydney) enters service, it will undertake the same qualification process.
HMAS Hobart is currently in dry dock in Sydney to undergo a series of modifications to the ship’s compartments and heli- copter interfaces under the Avia- tion Upgrade program, which will enable the Fleet Air Arm’s MH-60R Seahawk Romeo heli- copter to be fully integrated.
At ADM’s annual Congress in Canberra in February Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mike Noon- an said he is considering delaying the commissioning of HMAS Sydney until late 2019 or early 2020 to incorporate the Aviation Upgrade program in the build.
The last of the AWDs will come online in 2020.
we have inherent in our (Col- lins) submarine force. We have a lot of very skilled and expe- rienced acoustic operators and, in fact, during our trials with Hobart last year we had a number of submariners at sea, helping the surface warfare teams come to grips with pas- sive sonar operations as well.”
Hunter class capabilities
The Hunter class frigates being acquired under Sea 5000 are based on the Royal Navy’s Type 26 design, which is designed without compromise for the ASW role to replace the current Type 23 frigates, regard- ed by some as the best and quietest ASW vessels in the world today.
However, the ship will also come with a potent air defence capability, being equipped with CEA Technology’s CEA- FAR 2 radar and Aegis Combat System, a 32-cell Mk.41 Vertical Launch System and RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) and SM-2 weapons which are both common to the Hobart class.
“While the ship is optimised for ASW, it will be capable of firing the next version of ESSM, the Block 2 missile and the longer- range SM-2 and, because it will have the Aegis combat system, it will also come with the CEC,” CDRE Mann added.
The Hunter class will also be capable
ASW skills
One capability often overshadowed by the impressive air defence prowess of the Ho- bart class is their ability to perform ASW roles, using hull-mounted and towed- array sonar systems. The class arguably represents the most capable surface com- batant Navy has ever owned in the ASW role and will continue to do so until the Hunter class frigates enter service late next decade.
“The Hobart class is delivered with an integrated sonar suite with a hull-mounted sonar, torpedo defence capability and a towed array sonar, which is not a true vari- able depth sonar system but it is a step up from what we have at the moment, which is no towed array in the surface fleet,” CDRE Mann explained.
“We see this as an important gateway or stepping stone from current fleet capabili- ties to future fleet capabilities. One of the key things we need to exploit is the skill-sets
of engaging surface targets using an ad- vanced surface to surface missile that will replace the ageing AGM-84 Harpoon Block II missile.
“We will see a big step change from the Anzac ships it is replacing – we will have 32 VLS cells instead of eight, we will have a massive increase in combat system capa- bility from the Saab 9LV CMS to the Aegis Combat System, augmented by the Saab Australian Interface – and this combat sys- tem, together with Mk.41 VLS, allows for derivatives of future USN weapons as well,” CDRE Mann said.
The nine Hunter ships will also be built in three flights, each of three ships, which will allow for configuration enhancements as technology evolves and future sensors and weapons are developed through the life of the build.
“Like most of our ships, the Hunter class will be designed for combat, but it will be capable across the full spectrum of maritime tasks – from high-end warfare through to Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations,” CDRE Mann explained.
“However, it’s designed from a compo- nent level through to the full ships’ design to be a quiet ASW frigate. It will arguably be the best ASW frigate in the world when it comes into service from a design perspec- tive. It will have high-end active/passive so- nar performance and will represent our first
34 | April 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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