Australia signs contracts for Air Warfare Destroyer
Final contracts to build three Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) for the Royal Australian Navy has been awarded. With an estimated budget of 8 billion $’s this is the largest naval shipbuilding project ever undertaken in Australia.
The signing follows two years of work by the AWD team in the design selection phase of the project that resulted in the Australian Government choosing the Spanish Navantia F-100 warship as the platform for Australia’s next generation HOBART Class AWDs.
The first of these Air Warfare Destroyers will be delivered in late 2014, followed by the second and third ships in early-2016 and mid-2017 respectively.
The Aegis equipped F100, will be Australias next generation Air Warfare Destroyer.
The Australianised F100 will be capable across the full spectrum of joint maritime operations, from area air defence and escort duties, right through to peacetime national tasking and diplomatic missions.
Since entering service with the Spanish Navy, F100s, among their many other tasks, have worked alongside the United States Navy (USN) as the first foreign Aegis equipped ship to be fully integrated into a USN Carrier Strike Group.
The principal contract signed today was the three-way Alliance Based Target Incentive Agreement between the Defence Materiel Organisation, ASC AWD Shipbuilder Pty Ltd and Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd.
This contract does not include the Commonwealth contract for the Aegis Combat System, which is a separate agreement between the Australian and United States Governments.
The other contract signed today was the Platform System Design contract between the Commonwealth and Navantia S.A.