BAE Systems Australia has laid the keel of NUSHIP Hunter, the first of Australia’s new Type 26 frigate-derived Hunter-class anti-submarine warfare vessels.
The keel of the first Hunter-class frigate, NUSHIP Hunter, has been laid in Australia as construction of the Royal Australian Navy’s new generation of anti-submarine warfare ships moves into a more advanced phase, according to the company.
The ceremony took place on 24 August and saw BAE Systems Australia shipbuilders joined by Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy and Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Matthew Buckley. A ceremonial coin was placed beneath two major ship blocks forming part of the frigate’s keel, following a naval tradition intended to bring good fortune to the vessel and its future crew.
The two blocks are among the first major structural sections of NUSHIP Hunter and will be joined by additional modules as assembly of the hull progresses. The milestone marks the point at which the individual fabricated sections are increasingly being brought together into the physical form of the first ship.
The Hunter class is based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 frigate design, which was originally developed for the Royal Navy’s City-class anti-submarine warfare frigates. Australia selected the design for its own future surface fleet, adapting it with Australian combat systems, sensors and weapons. The programme is intended to provide the Royal Australian Navy with a new class of high-end surface combatants focused particularly on anti-submarine warfare while retaining broader air, surface and strike capabilities.
David Shepherd, Managing Director of BAE Systems Australia – Surface Ships, said, as quoted in a news update: “Today’s ceremony is the culmination of years of hard work by our people and partners in the pursuit of delivering a world-leading, warship to the Royal Australian Navy.”
He added: “The Hunter class will form the backbone of the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet for decades to come, with its unique capabilities, weapons, sensors and modular mission bay enabling it to undertake a wide range of missions in addition to hunting submarines.”
The modular mission bay is one of the features inherited from the Type 26 concept and is intended to give the ship greater flexibility in carrying boats, autonomous systems, mission equipment and other payloads according to operational requirements. Combined with the class’s emphasis on acoustic quieting and advanced sensors, the ships are being designed around the demanding requirement of locating and tracking submarines while also functioning as general-purpose escorts.
The Hunter programme is also central to Australia’s effort to establish a continuous sovereign naval shipbuilding capability. BAE Systems Australia has linked construction of the class to the development of a long-term domestic industrial base capable of designing, building and sustaining major warships rather than relying solely on overseas construction.
Shepherd said: “While today we have physically laid the keel of the first Hunter class frigate, the Hunter program itself has laid the foundations of a Continuous Naval Shipbuilding & Sustainment capability in Australia.”
He continued: “This milestone is a proud moment for our workforce, our partners and the thousands of Australians contributing to a sovereign naval shipbuilding enterprise that will support Australia’s security and prosperity for generations.”
Construction of NUSHIP Hunter will now continue as further blocks are joined to the keel sections, progressively forming the hull and superstructure of the first ship in the class.
Given how long it’s taken Australia to go from ordering the Hunter class to laying the first keel it’s really hard to see how they can build something as complicated as a Nuclear Submarine.
I can see this coming back to bight BAE and the UK just like Australian naval procurement already did to both Navntia and Naval Group. The Australian press is vicious and badly informed not to mention incredibly xenophobic and the political establishment is far too weak and divided.
I think Australia may have to accept it’s too small to build complex warships and its workforce is too expensive and lacks the necessary skills. You can’t just keep expecting to bring in a foreign defence contractor, show them and empty slip way and expect them to build some of the most complicated weapons on earth then bitch and moan because it costs you three times more and twice as long to build than anyone else.
Having a never ending succession of former Australian Prime Ministers constantly attacking the procurement decisions (even the ones they made) is also really not helping.