The first of the Royal Australian Navy’s nine Hunter-class future frigates will enter service about 2029-31, and the $35 billion program has had an encouraging start.
Notably, a head contract was signed by the government with ASC Shipbuilding (ASCS) just six months after the selection in June 2018 for an 8800-tonne-full-displacement, Australianised version of the BAE Systems (BAES) Type 26 Global Combat ship to replace the RAN’s eight Anzac-class frigates.
This incorporates allowable profit margins, other terms and conditions, the acquisition of long lead material and detailed scope for design and engineering work necessary to allow prototyping to commence in 2020 and to ensure steel is cut on the first ship in 2022.
Separately, the peppercorn sale by the federal government of its ASCS to BAES Australia through a sovereign capability offer deed was also signed. The Defence Department retains one golden share, enabling it to ensure the company acts in the national-security interests of Australia.
ASCS will remain a subsidiary of BAES Australia throughout the build process, during which the company is fully accountable for the ships’ delivery from the $530 million digital shipyard now being built by the federal government at Osborne South on the outskirts of Adelaide.
BAES is focusing on design changes necessary for the Hunter class to accommodate Australian-specific systems. These include the Aegis combat system, Standard SM-2 Block IIIA/B and Evolved Seasparrow (ESSM) anti-air missiles, the Australian-developed CEAFAR2 active phased array radar, a new tactical interface, and the MH-60R naval combat helicopter.
“BAES’s job is to supply the entire ship and they have Lockheed Martin Australia and Saab as combat system integration partners to help them with that task,” says Paddy Fitzpatrick, assistant secretary ship acquisition — surface combatants in Defence’s Capability and Sustainment Group.
“Sea 5000 is running about five years behind the UK’s Type 26 program — enough time to allow us to learn from their process, and apply lessons learned to our own,” Fitzpatrick says.
Nigel Stewart, ASCS managing director for BAES, says the whole ship design changes will continue to be progressed in the UK for 18 months to two years “because that’s where we currently have the engineering horsepower’’.
“The combat system design work is being led by our Adelaide-based team. The whole ship design will then be transferred to Australia in gradual stages as we start to build the ship, and in parallel we transfer the design authority into Australia as well,” Stewart says.
“Australia doesn’t want the first Hunter to be a first-of-class ship. By the time the first Hunter enters service, there will be at least three de-risked [experience-tested] Type 26s in service with the Royal Navy.”
The new shipyard, being built adjacent to the existing Air Warfare Destroyer construction yard and leased to ASCS, will be completed by March 2020.
BAES Australia will move into the new facility in July 2020 and start prototyping activity in December of that year. Five prototype blocks (sections) will be built in total.
“Initially we’d like them to build the same block that they’ve built before for the UK Type 26. They know all the problems with it, they know exact widths, they know how to train the relevant people, they know the hours it takes to build, and the costs,” CASG’s Fitzpatrick says.
“I think it’ll take somewhere between 22 and 24 months to train the workforce, build the practice blocks, qualify the yard, and ensure all the systems are operational and fully reliable before we actually construct the initial block for the first-of-type. That would commence in December 2022.”
The first of the Hunter class should be launched between 2027-28 and enter service between 2029-31.
The ships are initially planned to be built on a two-year interval, culminating with the possibility of 18 months between later ships. The last ship is expected to enter service in 2044-46.
Looking ahead, fulfilling the government’s objective of continuous build would require work to start on the ensuing program after the completion of Ship Seven given that the yard will accommodate three ships in production at the same time.
“By the time we’ve delivered the last of the Hunter class we’ll already be in build of ships one and two of whatever will replace the air warfare destroyers,” Stewart says.
I vaguely recall a design change on these components during the test period and instead of resetting the test duration, data from the original design was combined with data from the redesigned unit and the system passed. Had the redesigned package been tested properly, the problem would have been discovered saving a lot of grief. IEP is a success on the QE class. Haven't heard much lately about the T45 fix but I believe there is a plan underway.