Page 126 - Australian Defence Magazine May 2022

126 FROM THE SOURCE VICE ADMIRAL MICHAEL NOONAN
MAY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
board, along with Mr. Dalton, the Vice Chief of the De- fence Force and members of industry. We regularly review not just the high-level requirements, but also the progress against the schedule and any considerations we might need to look at as the design and the work around this frigate evolves. We believe it is moving in the direction that it needs to serve the Navy’s needs.
There are 23 High Level Capability Requirements (HL- CRs) that were originally developed as a framework to assess competing reference ship designs for the Future
government mandated requirements to include Australian and United States sensors and weapons.
Although the COVID-19 situation in the UK has impact- ed the Type 26 program and created challenges with its de- sign maturity, there is close collaboration between the two nations to improve and meet maturity targets, noting that it met its 2019/20 targets and has completed its Mission System Definition Review as part of the engineering plan.
I remain very confident that all elements of the enter- prise are working extremely well together to deliver a well- designed—and what will be a well-built—ship that meets the requirements of our Navy into the future.
ADM: Can you quantify changes to the vessel performance of the Hunter-class from the baseline design as a result of Australian requirements?
VADM NOONAN: The Hunter-class frigate program will deliver nine anti-submarine warfare frigates to the Royal Australian Navy. These ships will have a state-of-the-art ASW capability including hull-mounted and towed array sonars and torpedoes. The Hunter-class design’s acoustic signature meets Defence requirements which limit under- water noise, making it difficult to detect by submarines.
“OUR FLEET WILL EVOLVE SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF OUR STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT”
Frigate Project.
The HLCRs have not changed and
continue to be used to guide the de- sign and monitor the delivery of ca- pability. In 2022 the HLCRs remain unchanged as the key deliverables of the Hunter-class Frigate Project and continuous naval shipbuilding of surface combatants.
The Hunter-class Frigates will have sufficient range and endurance to operate effectively throughout the region, independently, or as part of a task group. The Hunter was selected as the capability best suit- ed for Australia’s requirements on the basis that it offers a superior anti-submarine warfare capability matched with
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LEFT: The Royal Australian Navy will grow into
a significantly larger and more potent force over coming decades
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