SvenSvensonov
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The first of two 27,000-ton amphibious warships was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on Friday, according to information from the service.
HMAS Canberra (L-02) entered the RAN fleet on Friday during a ceremony at the service’s Fleet Base East in Sydney.
Canberra and sister ship HMAS Adelaide will be the two largest ships in RAN history as part of about a $2.5 billion (USD) shipbuilding program.
The ship’s design is based on a Spanish amphibious assault ship Juan Carlo I and built and designed by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and BAE Systems Australia.
The pair will be the first ships since the 1980s capable of operating short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) fighters, but the Australian government said it has no plans to by the STOVL variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
“HMAS Canberra is an exciting addition to the Royal Australian Navy. This very capable ship will serve the nation well for decades to come,” said RAN Chief of Navy Vice Adm. Tim Barrett on Friday during the commissioning ceremony.
The ships will be crewed by about 400 RAN sailors and can transport about 1,000 troops with four landing craft and eight helicopters in an amphibious configuration. The ships can field up to 18 helicopters in an aviation centric configuration.
Class & type: Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock
Displacement: 27,500 tonnes (30,300 short tons; 27,100 long tons) at full load
Length: 230.82 m (757.3 ft)
Beam: 32.0 m (105.0 ft)
Draft: 7.08 m (23.2 ft)
Propulsion: Combined Diesel and Gas
1 × GE LM2500 gas turbine
2 × MAN 16V32/40 diesel generators
2 × Siemens azimuth thrusters
Speed: Over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) maximum
19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) full-load sustained
15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) economical
Range: 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried: 4 × LLC
Capacity: Up to 110 vehicles
Heavy vehicle deck: 1,410 m2(15,200 sq ft)
Light vehicle deck: 1,880 m2(20,200 sq ft)
Troops: 1,046
Complement: 358 personnel; 293 RAN, 62 Australian Army, 3 RAAF
Sensors and
processing systems: Giraffe AMB radar, Saab 9LV combat system
Electronic warfare
& decoys: AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy
Nulka missile decoy
Armament: 4 × Rafael Typhoon 25 mm remote weapons systems
6 × 12.7 mm machine guns
Aircraft carried: 8 helicopters (standard)
18 helicopters (maximum hangar space)
Aviation facilities: Flight deck with 13 degree ski-jump, 6 in-line deck landing spots
From Largest Ever Australian Warship Enters Fleet - USNI News