Page 42 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2019

PROJECTS
MARITIME
actually build the first block for the first-of type in 2022,” Fitzpatrick explained.
The first-of-type should be launched be- tween 2027-28 and enter service between 2029-31.
A gap of just over three years between the start of work on Ship 1 and Ship 2 then re- duces to two years culminating with possibly just 18 months between Ship 8 and Ship 9, whose completion date is forecast for 2042.
Patrol boats
Construction of the first of 12 Arafura- class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) is proceeding slightly ahead of schedule, and detailed planning is expected to ob- viate any risks involved in the build pro- gram being split two-10 between South and Western Australia.
Launch of the first 1,640-tonne OPV at Osborne by ASC OPV Shipbuilding under contract to Luerssen Australia is scheduled for May 2021, with delivery in December 2021 after trials and verification.
Construction of the second ship starts in August with launch anticipated in Feb- ruary 2022, while Civmec will begin work on Ship Three at Henderson near Perth in April 2020. Launch is forecast for Novem- ber 2023.
“Through delivery of accurate 3D model cutting files from Luerssen, good qual- ity steel from BlueScope in Wollongong, accurately-profiled steel from Civmec and high quality work from the ASC work- force and supervisors, the hull blocks are taking shape fast, accurately, and are of a high quality,” Peter Croser, Assistant Sec- retary Ships Acquisition – Specialist ships at CASG said to ADM.
The first keel was laid shortly before this edition of ADM went to press.
AWDs
Sea trials for NUSHIP Sydney, the third and final Hobart-class Air Warfare De- stroyer (AWD), will begin in the last quar- ter of this year.
The ship will arrive at Fleet Base East in the first quarter of 2020 and is likely to be handed over from CASG to the RAN to- wards the end of that period. Commission- ing is expected to take place early in the sec- ond quarter of 2020.
The anticipated date of delivery to the RAN is several months earlier than previ- ously scheduled thanks to a decision to modify the storage of Mk54 torpedoes and AGM-114N Hellfire missiles for the ship’s MH-60R naval combat helicopter as part of the construction process rather than after its completion.
The modifications include racks for Hell- fire and Mk54 storage, enhanced safety measures and the installation of blowout doors for the magazine. Additional maga- zine space will enable flight-in-air material to be fitted to the Mk 54 in the magazine rather than the hangar.
Other work will include changing the external lighting systems, in particular the flight deck lights, to be more compatible with night vision devices.
Anzac class
The good news is that HMAS Arunta will rejoin the fleet at the end of the year as the first of the eight Anzac-class frigates to complete a full Mid-Life Capability Assur- ance Program (AMCAP). Since arriving at Henderson in September 2017, around 300,000 hours of work have been invested in the ship.
Work on HMAS Anzac will begin at the end of July and HMAS Warramunga will go on the hard in mid-2020.
Included in the AMCAP upgrade is the replacement of the ageing Raytheon SPS- 49(V)8 ANZ long-range air search radar with the new CEAFAR L-Band active- phased array radar, enhancements to the torpedo self-defence systems and the Nulka active missile decoy capability, installation of Link 22, engine modifications, and im- provements to lighting, ventilation and sewage systems and to the ship control and monitoring system.
The new radar will sit atop and comple- ment the faceted CEAFAR radar installed under the anti-ship missile defence (ASMD) program which was completed in 2017.
All eight Anzac vessels are scheduled to be upgraded by 2023, two years before the previously-scheduled retirement of the old- est of the class, HMAS Anzac, in 2025.
The bad news is that Defence advised the government in June 2018 that it would be necessary to extend the life of the Anzac
42 | June 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
ASC