The Australian Government selected BAE Systems to build nine new frigates for the Australian Navy under the Australian Navy SEA 5000 Phase 1 Future Frigate project. The new Hunter Class frigates will replace the current ANZAC class frigates and will be optimized for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The new vessels. The new warships are based on the Global Combat Ship design pioneered by BAE Systems, which was also selected for the Royal Navy Type 26 frigate.
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The AU$35 billion program is part of a massive $200 billion continuous shipbuilding program that will deliver 54 new vessels – surface ships and submarines – over the next decade. The frigate program will secure 4,00 Australian jobs across the continent.
By 2030, over half of the world’s submarines will be operating in the Indo-Pacific region where Australia’s interests are most engaged. The primary purpose of the Hunter Class frigates is to detect, track and, if required, destroy enemy submarines. The first Hunter class frigate will be introduced into service from the late 2020s.
A 150 meter long, and 8,800 tons displacement the Hunter class frigates will be operated by a crew of 180 personnel. The Future Frigates will replace the eight ANZAC class frigates currently in service. The ANZAC’s entered service in 1996 and are expected to be maintained until the 2040s, when the youngest ship, HMAS Perth, will have been in service for more than 35 years.
The $35 billion spending is expected to have 65-75 percent local share, with the construction of the ships done in Adelaide, southern Australia. The program also includes infrastructure investment, $130 million at Osborne Naval Shipyard, South Australia, for the land-based test facility and at Henderson, at HMAS Sterling in Western Australia, along with $670 million for the Ship Zero training school for the Hunter class.
In this selection, BAE Systems has beaten its two European competitors, the Italian Fincantieri and Spanish Navantia. Both offered designs based on existing vessels. Although Australia selected a vessel that exists only on paper, the Navy is confident the selection was the right one. “The evaluation was quite stringent and strict against the requirements that we had. By the time that the first of these are built, there will already be four other hulls in the water.” Vice Admiral Barrett Chief of the Australian Navy said. “It has also been designed and is being built by a nation which has, on a regular basis in the North Atlantic and elsewhere, been chasing submarines as a matter of course on a day by day proposition. We’ve evaluated and studied extensively how they intend to do it and we believe – and I spoke as recently as last night to the First Sea Lord, my equivalent in the Royal Navy – and I am assured by his comments, of just how far and how successful this platform will be as the world’s most advanced ASW frigate.” Adm. Barrett added.
The Hunter Class frigates will be built by ASC Shipbuilding at the Osborne Naval Shipyard. ASC Shipbuilding, currently wholly owned by the Commonwealth, will become a subsidiary of BAE Systems during the build.
The $35 billion spending is expected to have 65-75 percent local share, with the construction of the ships done in Adelaide, southern Australia. The program also includes infrastructure investment, $130 million at Osborne Naval Shipyard, South Australia, for the land-based test facility and at Henderson, at HMAS Sterling in Western Australia, along with $670 million for the Ship Zero training school for the Hunter class.
