In December 2014 the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is due to take delivery of the first of its three new Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs). If the original schedule is adhered to, first-ofclass Hobart will be followed by Brisbane inMarch2016and Sydney inJune2017. The ships are being constructed under the auspices of Project SEA 4000, instituted in 2000 to furnish the Australian fleet with a maritime air-defence capability analogous to that previously provided by the RAN's Standard Missile 1 (SM-l)-armed Perth-class destroyers. These modified US-built Charles F Adams-class guided-missile platforms, displacing about 4,700 tons, were decommissioned in 1999-2001 and have since been supplanted in this role by the slightly smaller Adelaide-class (Oliver Hazard Perry) frigates (4,200 tons), four of which have been retained and upgraded with SM-2 Block IIIA missiles improving their area air-defence capability.Their decommissioning is intended to dovetail with the handover of the Hobart class.Potentially displacing up to 7,000 tons at full load, the AWDs are required to provide an air-defence umbrella for an accompanying naval task group, troops and other landbased assets in the littoral, as well as self-defence against missile and aircraft attack. Ballistic missile defence (BMD) is not an agreed role for the Hobart class under SEA 4000, although it is acknowledged that the project does provide an identified growth path to support a future BMD capability. The new destroyers are also required to have surface and underwater warfare capabilities, including ship-to-ship missiles, a gun to provide fire support to troops ashore, a sonar system and surface-launched torpedoes to prosecute submarines. A helicopter will also be carried for visual and electronic surveillance, in addition to weapon delivery against surface and underwater targets.
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