Adelaide class frigate
Encyclopedia
The Adelaide class is a ship class of six guided missile frigates constructed in Australia and the United States of America for service in the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
. The class is based on the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
, but modified for Australian requirements. The first four vessels were built in the United States, while the other two were constructed in Australia.
The first ship entered service in November 1980, and four of the six ships are active as of 2010. Canberra and Adelaide were paid off in 2005 and 2008 respectively, and later sunk as dive wrecks: their decommissioning was to offset the cost of an A$1 billion weapons and equipment upgrade to the remaining four ships. The four surviving ships will be replaced by the Hobart class air-warfare destroyer from 2013 onwards.
Construction and acquisition
The Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government headed by Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
approved the purchase of two US-built Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
in 1974 after the Australian light destroyer project
Australian light destroyer project
The Australian light destroyer project aimed to build a class of small destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy . The project began in 1966 with the goal of developing simple light destroyers to support patrol boat operations...
was cancelled in 1973. The Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
government led by Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
gave final approval to this purchase in 1976 and ordered a third ship the following year. This decision was based on plans and projections, as the lead ship of the class—USS Oliver Hazard Perry
USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7)
USS Oliver Hazard Perry , lead ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, American naval hero, who was victorious at the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie...
—would not be completed until 1977, however the success of the USN's Charles F. Adams class destroyer
Charles F. Adams class destroyer
The Charles F. Adams class is a ship class of 29 guided missile destroyers built between 1958 and 1967. Twenty three ships were built for the United States Navy, 3 for the Royal Australian Navy, and 3 for the West German Bundesmarine. The ships were based on the existing Forrest Sherman class, but...
(of which the RAN operated three ships as the Perth class
Perth class destroyer
The Perth class destroyers were three modified Charles F. Adams class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy . Ordered from Defoe Shipbuilding Company during 1962 and 1963, HMA Ships , , and were the first guided missiled-armed warships, and the first naval ships of United...
) when compared to the equivalent British ships the RAN would have purchased, made the risk acceptable.
The order was later expanded with the order of a fourth unit. These four ships were built by Todd Pacific Shipyards
Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation through the merger of Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company of Erie Basin, Brooklyn, New York, the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company...
of Seattle, Washington, as part of the USN's shipbuilding program, and were assigned USN hull number
Hull number
Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type....
s during construction, which were replaced with RAN pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
s upon entering service. The first, HMAS Adelaide (USN hull number FFG-17, RAN pennant number FFG 01) was built to the Flight I design, while Canberra (FFG-18/FFG 02) and Sydney (FFG-35/FFG 03) were the first and last ships of the Flight II design, respectively. The final American-built ship was Darwin (FFG-44/FFG 04); constructed to the Flight III design. In 1980, two more ships (Torrens
HMAS Torrens
Two ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS Torrens, after the River Torrens., a River class torpedo boat destroyer commissioned in 1916, decommissioned in 1920, and sunk as a target in 1930, a naval depot at Port Adelaide, South Australia, operated from...
and Newcastle) were ordered, but were built in Australia by AMECON
AmeCon
AmeCon is an anime convention based in Leicester, United Kingdom, typically of three days in length, and is one of the largest anime conventions in the United Kingdom. The convention was formed after several committee members of the Leicester Anime and Manga Club decided to run a small,...
of Williamstown, Victoria
Williamstown, Victoria
Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Williamstown had a population of 12,733....
, and did not receive USN numbers. Prior to launch, Torrens was renamed Melbourne, as the aircraft carrier of the same name was still commissioned when the Adelaide class was ordered, but left service in 1982.
Armament
Since the withdrawal of the Perth classPerth class destroyer
The Perth class destroyers were three modified Charles F. Adams class guided missile destroyers operated by the Royal Australian Navy . Ordered from Defoe Shipbuilding Company during 1962 and 1963, HMA Ships , , and were the first guided missiled-armed warships, and the first naval ships of United...
destroyers, these ships are the RAN's primary air defence vessels, armed with a Mark 13 missile launcher for SM-2 missiles
RIM-66 Standard
The RIM-66 Standard MR is a medium range surface-to-air missile originally developed for the United States Navy . The SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships...
. They also have significant surface capability, being armed with a 76 millimetres (3 in) Mk 75 gun and the Harpoon ASM (also fired by the Mark 13 launcher), and a pair of triple torpedo tubes for ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
. In addition, a pair of S-70B Seahawk
SH-60 Seahawk
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant airframe modification is a hinged tail to reduce its footprint aboard ships.The...
helicopters are carried.
_harpoon.jpg)
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
are fitted with two M2HB .50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts, installed on the aft corners of the hangar roof. Two TopLite EO directors are used with the guns.
The Australian frigates were originally fitted with American Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedoes
Mark 46 torpedo
Designed to attack high-performance submarines, the Mark 46 torpedo is the backbone of the U.S. Navy's lightweight ASW torpedo inventory, and is the current NATO standard. These aerial torpedoes, such as the Mark 46 Mod 5, are expected to remain in service until the year 2015...
, but by 2008, they had been replaced with the European MU90 Impact
MU90 Impact
The MU90/IMPACT is an advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo used by navies of Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Australia and Poland. It is designed to compete with and outperform the US-built Mark 46 in the anti-submarine role, and is also available in a special MU90 Hard Kill version for...
torpedo in three of the four frigates as part of the FFG Upgrade, with the conversion of Newcastle underway at that point.
Upgrades
There have been two major upgrades distinguishing the Adelaide class from the American Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates.Lengthening
The first three ships were constructed to the Perry class' 'short' hull design (Flight I and II), with an identical length for both the main deck and the keel. Ships from FFG-36 onwards (including Darwin) were built with an increase in overall length—achieved by angling the transomTransom (nautical)
In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward, also known as a retroussé or reverse transom, angling forward from the waterline to the deck, or raked aft, often simply called "raked", angling...
(the section between the fantail and the keel) to increase the area of the flight deck and allow the operation of Seahawk helicopters. Adelaide, Canberra, and Sydney were later upgraded to match the slightly larger ships, and were fitted with the updated sonars and ESM systems of the Flight III design.
FFG Upgrade
In the mid 1990s, the Australian government commenced SEA 1390, also known as the FFG Upgrade Project. Originally costing A$1 billion, which has expanded to A$1.46 billion, the project includes improvements to the combat and fire control system, the sonar suite, and the air defence missiles. The upgrade was for four ships and intended to expand their service life to approximately 2020. The project cost was partly offset by the decommissioning of the two oldest units: Canberra paying off in 2005 and Adelaide in 2008. Modification of each ship is taking place at Garden Island Dockyard, with Australian Defence IndustriesAustralian Defence Industries
Thales Australia is a primary defence contractor for the Australian Defence Force. Thales Australia is best known for its naval ship repair operations, and currently leases the Captain Cook graving dock at Garden Island Naval Base in Sydney, New South Wales and also leases and occupies many of the...
(ADI, now Thales
Thales Group
The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
Australia) selected as project leader for the upgrade phase of the project.
After the refit, the ship will be capable of firing SM-2MR
RIM-66 Standard
The RIM-66 Standard MR is a medium range surface-to-air missile originally developed for the United States Navy . The SM-1 was developed as a replacement for the RIM-2 Terrier and RIM-24 Tartar that were deployed in the 1950s on a variety of USN ships...
and RGM-84 Harpoon
Boeing Harpoon
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system, developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas . In 2004, Boeing delivered the 7,000th Harpoon unit since the weapon's introduction in 1977...
missiles from the Mk13 launcher. An 8-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launch System
Mark 41 Vertical Launch System
The Mark 41 Vertical Launch System is a shipborne missle canister launching system which provides a rapid-fire launch capability against hostile threats. The Vertical Launch System concept was derived from work on the Aegis Combat System. Refinement of the concept continued through the 1960s and...
for Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile
ESSM
The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile is a development of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missile used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft. ESSM is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles...
is also installed forward of the Mark 13 launcher. The Phalanx CIWS
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...
is upgraded to Block 1B, and the torpedoes, missiles, and other ship-mounted weapons are upgraded to the latest versions.
As of January 2008, the FFG Upgrade Project was running at least four years behind schedule. The frigates' anti-missile and anti-torpedo detection and defence systems could not be integrated as intended, leaving the ships vulnerable to attack. The first ship refitted, HMAS Sydney, was initially not accepted back into service by the RAN because of the problems, which have also prevented any refitted ship from serving in a combat zone. Defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon
Joel Fitzgibbon
Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon is an Australian politician and Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Hunter in New South Wales. From December 2007 to June 2009 he was the Minister for Defence in the Rudd Ministry...
, elected to the position following a change in government at the 2007 Australian federal election, claimed that problems with the Adelaides were amongst several defence problems inherited by the Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
Labor Government after the election, and stated that "In the case of the Adelaide class, [the previous government] were trying to make a 21st century warship out of vessels built in the early 1970s, which were only ever designed to operate between 20 and 25 years." Australian Defence Association executives and serving navy personnel have blamed both political parties for the problems: while the Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
Liberal government was responsible for the project, the preceding Labor government chose to maintain the frigates instead replacing them with the more expensive and much more labour-intensive, but more capable Kidd class destroyers
Kidd class destroyer
The Kidd class guided missile destroyers were a series of four warships based upon the hull of the Spruance class destroyers. These ships were originally ordered by the Shah of Iran for service in the Persian Gulf in an air defense role...
in the early 1990s.
By November 2008, Darwins upgrade had been completed, while the problems experienced with Sydney had been rectified in both ships. It is planned to start deploying these warships to the Gulf in 2009. The RAN and Thales subsequently claimed that the two upgraded ships were the "most capable ships in the history of the RAN", and that once the other two Adelaides were upgraded, the navy would possess the "most lethal frigate fleet on earth". It was reported at the same time that other nations operating guided missile frigates, including the United States, Canada, Greece, and Turkey, were considering similar upgrades.
Fates
Canberra and Adelaide were decommissioned to offset the cost of upgrading the remaining four ships, with Canberra decommissioned on 12 November 2005 and Adelaide on 19 January 2008. Canberra was subsequently sunk as a dive wreck on 4 October 2009, 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off Ocean Grove, VictoriaOcean Grove, Victoria
Ocean Grove is a seaside town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Bellarine Peninsula. At the 2006 census, Ocean Grove had a population of 11,274.-History:...
, in 30 metres (98.4 ft) of water.
Adelaide was converted into a dive wreck, but plans to scuttle her off Avoca Beach, New South Wales
Avoca Beach, New South Wales
Avoca Beach is a coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney. It is located within the City of Gosford local government area.-Geography:...
in April 2010 were postponed following protests by resident action groups and a tribunal hearing, which ordered the removal of wiring and paint from sections of the frigate before she was sunk on 13 April 2011.
The four upgraded Adelaide class frigates will be replaced by three new Hobart class air defence destroyers, equipped with the Aegis combat system
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
, starting around 2013.