Another Spanish design, the Alvaro


de Bazán, has been selected for the AWD which will be known as the Hobart class and will have a potential ballistic missile defence role based upon Lockheed Martin Aegis Baseline 7.1R combat system with AN/SPY-1D multi-function radar. Three ships are planned, hopes for a


fourth being dashed about a year ago. Tey will be built in Australia with blocks being built in yards around the country in the same way as the British Daring (Type 45) class anti-air warfare destroyers. ASC in Adelaide was to produce 27 blocks of the forward superstructure as well as assembling the ships, BAE Systems in Melbourne was to produce the hull in 36 blocks while Forgacs in Newcastle was to produce 30 blocks involving the rest of the superstructure. Te lead ship was to be laid down this year, launched in 2013 and commissioned the following year with her sister ships following in 2016 and 2017. However, the A$8 billion programme


suffered a major setback in October 2010 when it was discovered the BAE-built central keel block had distorted, making it incompatible with other hull sections. Te manufacturer blamed Navantia for poor quality drawings and information while its partners in the AWD Alliance blamed the manufacturer; BAE warned Canberra that its amphibious warfare work could cause delays of up to two years and the government has reduced the yard’s contribution to the AWD. In May 2011 the Australian government announced changes in the programme


with BAE Systems losing 13 blocks in the first two ships to the other yards (Forgacs has received nine) with three (and possibly five) blocks being built in Europe, Navantia, which already has responsibility for all three blocks housing the hull-mounted sonar, may get up to five more blocks. Te reworking of the keel block set back the project six months but now the programme has slipped at least a year (and possibly two) and it is clear that costs will rise.


“there are fears that the problems with the Collins class will delay a decision on replacing them for up to two years”


However, on 16 August the first keel


block from BAE Systems was delivered to Adelaide where it will receive further work including fitting pipes, internal walls as well as installing communications and electrical cables. By mid-August two other blocks were nearing completion, construction had begun on all main blocks for HMAS Hobart and work has also begun on blocks for the second ship, HMAS Brisbane. Next year work will begin on blocks for HMAS Sydney and the first-of-class will start to be assembled in Adelaide. If


the AWD programme is causing


concern, Australia’s submarine programmes are facing major problems. Since 1996 the Royal Australian Navy has had a nominal six Collins class submarines, which have cost A$10 billion, but it has had severe problems manning these boats and keeping them at sea, with numerous incidents of emergencies keenly picked up by the press and reported. In May, HMAS Dechaineux was unable


to participate in a Singapore-based exercise due to problems with its main motor but limped back to HMAS Stirling in Perth on 30 May. In June the press claimed none of the Collins class could put to sea, although HMAS Waller and Dechaineux were deemed ‘operational’ but were undergoing detailed inspections as the latter’s main motor problem had been detected in the former; HMAS Farncomb was in dry dock to replace a broken emergency propulsion unit; HMAS Collins was undergoing scheduled maintenance but was due back at sea later in June; while HMAS Sheean and Rankin were both in long-term maintenance at the Australian Submarine Corporation in Adelaide. It was also claimed in the press that defects


with the submarines’ diesel engines (which may not last until 2025 when the boats are scheduled to begin paying off), the electric motors and batteries had been detected as the boats aged, that there was a shortage of spare parts and that a 12 months mid-cycle docking maintenance scheduled for HMAS Waller, to begin on 10 June, had been deferred for several months. A Defence Department spokesman denied that the two submarines were ‘unseaworthy’ but did not say they were


HMAS Kanimbla was found to have serious corrosion and engine problems.


Warship Technology October 2011


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