Although the recent commismissioning of the guided-missile frigate HMAS Adelaide appeared ordinary and publicity-shy at Todd Pacific Shipyards, it was a historic event.
First, it was learned Her Majesty's Australian Ship Adelaide is considered the newest and first Australian Navy ship built for Australia in 12 years. Next, the 445-foot computerized escort ship is the first of its class of Australian ships to be commissioned in a United States shipyard. Todd Pacific Seattle is Washington State's major shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of Todd Shipyards Corporation, the largest independent shipbuilder and repairer in the United States.
When Adelaide sails for Australia after extensive training and trials in the U.S. within a year, she will be the first gas-turbinepowered vessel in the Australian Navy. The Adelaide was turned over by Todd officials to the Australian Navy, and was commissioned into active service in formal ceremonies November 15 at Todd's facilities on Harbor Island, where Comdr. G.R. Lamperd of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) of Canberra was given HMAS Adelaide's command.
The Lord Mavor of Adelaide, the Right Honorable J.V.S.
Bowen, was guest of honor at the ceremony, and on behalf of the City of Adelaide presented the ship with a sterling silver plate and a special trophy to commemorate the event and the tie between the city and the ship.
The Adelaide is the first of four General Electric gas-turbinepowered FFGs being built by Todd Pacific Seattle for the Australian Navy. The next three ships will be named for the cities of Canberra, Sydney, and Darwin.
Four of the 12 FFGs under Todd contract are being purchased by the Royal Australian Navy under a "foreign military sales" agreement with the United States Government.
The total contract price for all 12 ships is roughly $750 million, or about $62.5 per ship.
The Adelaide is 445 feet long and displaces 3,600 tons. The ship is fitted with a 76-mm gun, missile launcher, torpedo tubes, and is capable of carrying two helicopters.
She has a complement of 183 officers and men.
The Governor General of Australia, Sir Zelman Cowen, and Lady Cowen were present at the launching of the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Tobruk, at Carrington Slipways Pty. Ltd.'s shipyard at Tomago, recently. Lady Cowen named and launched the $36-million amphibious heavy-lift ship during a traditional
for the United States Navy. The principal speaker for the launch ceremonies was Vice Adm. Anthony M. Synnot, Chief of Naval Staff, for the Royal Australian Navy. Mrs. Elizabeth Anne Synnot, wife of Admiral Synnot, christened the ship, accompanied by her matron-of-honor, Mrs. Jocelyn Loosli, wife
, Seattle Division, on July 29. This will be the first of two guided missile frigates (FFG-7 Class) which are being built especially for the Royal Australian Navy. On hand for the ceremony were guests from the City of Adelaide, along with Rear Adm. J.D. Murray, Commandant of the 13th Naval District
Driven by the need to organically protect maritime Task Groups from the threat of sea mines, the Royal Australian Navy is introducing a deployable Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) capability under the first phase of Project SEA 1778.The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) SEA 1778 deployable Mine Counter-Measures
Australian Shipbuilding Industry Pty., Ltd. of Coogee, Western Australia, for a technology transfer in connection with the repair and overhaul of Australian Navy combatants and auxiliaries. The companies will also work together to acquire repair and overhaul work of U.S. Navy ships that operate in the Far
the Navy's fiscal 1980 program, two more FFG-7 class guided missile frigates for the U.S. Navy, and one additional FFG-7 class ship for the Royal Australian Navy. The base price is approximately $203 million, with provision for upward adjustment for labor, material, and overhead escalation in accordance
decade, it has built 10 frigates for the Spanish Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy and currently is providing design and technical assistance to the Royal Australian Navy for the construction of 3 AWD destroyers. • LHD ships: It has built one unit for the Spanish Navy, two units for the Royal Australian Navy
Rear Adm. Oscar Hughes, project leader with overall responsibility for the Royal Australian Navy's new submarine project, recently visited Sweden's Hedemora Diesel AB to test-start a prototype engine that is one of a series of engines intended for six submarines. The order, which includes a total of
The Australian government has asked two European companies— Ingenieurkontor Lubeck/Howaldtswerke- Deutsche Werft (IKLHDW) of West Germany and Kockums AB of Sweden—to submit detailed proposals for the design and construction, in Australia, of new submarines for the Royal Australian Navy. The two
missile frigates, of which 30 have been awarded to Todd's Los Angeles and Seattle Divisions, including four built for and delivered to the Royal Australian Navy. Australian personnel will visit both facilities for first-hand exposure to the FFG construction process, and Todd personnel will provide
Company, Walpole, Mass., has been awarded the contract to supply the twin-screw controllable- pitch (C-P) propeller systems and shafting to Australian Marine Engineering Consolidated Limited (AMECON), Williamstown, Australia, for the ANZAC Ship Project. The project consists of 10 frigates with
COVER FEATURE times of con? ict or in other national said Ebeling. “If you look at Iraq and tors bring to the table, all provided by emergencies, and the program also Afghanistan, 98% of those cargoes the MSP ? eet, and it would cost the provides DoD access to MSP partici- were transported to the
Authors & Contributors MARITIME REPORTER AND ENGINEERING NEWS M A R I N E L I N K . C O M ISSN-0025-3448 USPS-016-750 No. 2 Vol. 86 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News Goldberg Haun (ISSN # 0025-3448) is published monthly Galdorisi except for March, July, and October by Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.
four of its 18 Ohio-class SSBNs and They can also operate without the wires, These weapons are launched over the side converted them to conventional cruise using their own active or passive sensors. of surface ships with the ubiquitous MK missile carriers. The ? rst four Ohio- They are programmed to
additional Virginia-class boats will be built for Aus- are the only two shipyards that build nuclear powered ships tralia as part of the trilateral Australian-British-American se- in the U.S. Newport News was also building Nimitz-class curity pact known as AUKUS. Eventually Australia will build nuclear
at depths up to 1,000 feet. serve as a moored training ship (MTS ton. Some of the 688s were pulled from Hammerhead consists of a mooring 701) and the Nuclear Power School service at their mid-life point rather than module that plants itself on the bot- in Charleson, S.C. Likewise USS San incur the
SUBSEA VEHICLES DEFENSE Members from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 and expeditionary sea base ship USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5) prepare the MK 18 MOD 2 Sword? sh to be deployed from the Open Water Transportation System (OWTS) during Exercise Noble Vanguard. U.S. Navy photo by Mass
fying mines, especially the hard-to-? nd bottom and buried mines in high clutter environments. Knife? sh uses the low- frequency broadband capability devel- oped by the Physical Acoustics Branch of the Naval Research Laboratory. The 2,000-lb., 22-foot long Knife? sh is based on the Blue? n 21 UUV.
SUBSEA VEHICLES DEFENSE Knife? sh is a medium-class mine countermeasure UUV designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Brooks/RELEASED be applied to Orca XLUUV 1 through 5, which will be built (encapsulated torpedo) mine.
SUBSEA VEHICLES DEFENSE Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Test Vehicle. The Navy’s top of? cer wants more players on the ? eld Unmanned Underwater Systems = Force Multiplier Source: Boeing By Edward Lundquist peaking at the Surface Navy Association’s an- (i.e., a mix of ships that avoids ‘putting too
“The sky’s the limit in terms of payloads that can be brought into the vehicle.” Ann Stevens, Vice President, Boeing Maritime & Intelligence Systems subsea vehicles, speci? cally vehicles with increased endurance nautical miles. “You can go for months at a time without requir- to allow them to be deployed
INTERVIEW BOEING oeing delivered the ? rst Orca Extra Large Uncrewed Under- sea Vehicle (XLUUV) to the BU.S Navy following acceptance testing, the ? rst of six Orca XLUUVs to be delivered to the U.S. Navy over the next 18 months. The ? rst unit is to be used as a test asset for the Navy, so it
market and because of the internal investment it is available on the ef? ciency and effectiveness of AUVs? now without development risk. It is dif? cult to narrow it down to a single piece of technol- ogy, there have been several waves of technology that have How the U.S. Navy demands for autonomous
INTERVIEW DUANE FOTHERINGHAM, HII MISSION TECHNOLOGIES Image courtesy HII REMUS 620 Last month we visited with Duane Fotheringham, President, Unmanned Systems, HII Mission Technologies division, for insights on the new REMUS 620. Can you summarize the key techni- for the U.S. Navy’s Lion? sh System cal
“This program has proven that deploy- for safety reasons on ships. We did it, and facilities for manned helicopter ing sonobuoys from Rotary Wing UAS with all the senior leaders—admirals operations from their ships but could with a compact logistical footprint is a and generals--watching. Our competito
INSIGHTS AERIAL DRONES & MINE HUNTING UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM HAS EARNED ITS SEA-LEGS By Edward Lundquist he Swiss-Swedish joint-venture UMS Skeldar V-200 mum take-off weight of 235kg, a maximum speed of 75 knots vertical take-off unmanned arial system (VTUAV) and a payload of up to 40kg. It can take
than the surface or air domains, but they will continue to fall, and it is certainly About the Author possible that a determined actor could David R. Strachan is a defense analyst and founder of construct its own poor man’s submarine Strikepod Systems, a research and strategic advisory force. Even a
INSIGHTS SUBSEA DEFENSE SILENT, MOBILE, DEADLY: THE RISE OF COMBAT AUVS Copyright Jesper/AdobeStock By David Strachan, Senior Analyst, Strikepod Systems rone warfare has come into its own. The war in targeted by warship point defense systems and helicopter gun- Ukraine, what many analysts are calling
MTR Editorial Advisors Gallaudet Hardy The Honorable Tim Gallaudet, Kevin Hardy is President PhD, Rear Admiral, U.S. of Global Ocean Design, Navy (ret) is the CEO of creating components and Ocean STL Consulting and subsystems for unmanned host of The American Blue vehicles, following a career
Editorial bout 12 years ago I was invited to the home of then Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary A Roughead, for “a discussion on unmanned underwater systems.” When I ? rst received the invite, my ? rst thought was © Jason Adelaars MBARI 2023 www.marinetechnologynews.com “how did I get on this
January/February 2024 On the Cover Volume 67 • Number 1 The Orca XLUUV delivered by Boeing to U.S. Navy Image courtesy Boeing 8 AUVs 22 The Rise to Combat Silent, mobile and deadly, the subsea drone wars arrive. By David Strachan 14 Research Paving the Way NOC charts a path in science research
In the Shipyard Latest Deliveries, Contracts and Designs Vard Inks $450M to Build Cable Layers ARD won a $252m contract for the design and con- struction of a third cable laying vessel for Italy’s Prysmian Group: Monna Lisa is still under construc- V tion; Leonardo da Vinci was delivered in 2021. The new
Column space does not allow for a full description of all that evaluating USVs in broader and more intense set of missions. occurred at this three-day event, so I will focus on the key- • Australia has become a leader is USV experimentation. notes and panels that concentrated most-intently on uncrewed
Autonomy All photos courtesy Mr. Dave Meron U.S. Military’s Path Toward Uncrewed By George Galdorisi or readers of Maritime Reporter and Engineer- the promise of providing the U.S. military with an asymmetric ing News, it is impossible to miss the impact of advantage over potential adversaries. Ukraine’s
Authors & Contributors MARITIME REPORTER AND ENGINEERING NEWS M A R I N E L I N K . C O M ISSN-0025-3448 USPS-016-750 No. 1 Vol. 86 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News Goldberg Haun (ISSN # 0025-3448) is published monthly Galdorisi except for March, July, and October by Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.