HMAS Adelaide (L01)

HMAS Adelaide (L01) History

HMAS Adelaide (L01) is the second of two Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) warships ready for service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship is part of the new Canberra-class LHD group, which includes the lead ship HMAS Canberra (L02), which entered service in November 2014.

Adelaide is expected to follow sometime in 2016. Named after the Australian city of Adelaide, HMAS Adelaide is the third ship to receive that designation - the first being a light cruiser in 1918 and the second a frigate during the Cold War.

Over the past decade, the Australian government has authorised the construction of two new LHD warships to strengthen the RAN stockpile in response to current demands and growing regional threats such as those from China. This move gave birth to the Canberra class, based on the same Spanish design as the production "Juan Carlos I", which entered service with the Spanish Navy in 2010 (the French Mistral family was also considered).

The construction of HMAS Adelaide, a joint effort between Spanish shipyard Navantia and Australian BAe Systems, was laid on 18 February 2011 and the partially completed vessel was launched on 4 July 2011. She will serve at the East Fleet base near Port Jackson in Sydney and her flag will be "L01".

When complete, the HMAS Adelaide will have a displacement of 30,300 tons (short), a length of 757 feet, a width of 105 feet, and a draft of 23 feet. The standard combat force is 358, comprising 293 RAF personnel, 62 Army personnel and 3 Air Force personnel. Her propulsion machinery consists of a combined diesel and gas unit (CODAG) with 1 GE LM2500 gas turbine and 2 MAN 16V32/40 diesel generators for increased efficiency depending on the required speed. There are 2 Siemens azimuth thrusters for more precise maneuvering of large vehicles.

Top speed in ideal conditions is expected to be in excess of 20 knots, with a cruising speed of 15 knots. The maximum operating range is specified as 9,000 nautical miles.

The heart of a modern LHD is the cockpit and cargo compartment. For the latter, Adelaide supports up to 110 military vehicles on two decks, accommodating up to 1,046 combat-ready troops. For humanitarian missions, that means the ship can support hundreds of displaced civilians as well as medical personnel.

Adelaide carries four mechanized landing craft to support amphibious operations (as well as small team boats such as RIBs) when its land forces come ashore. The flight deck can launch/retrieve up to 18 helicopters, while in its typical offshore configuration it deploys eight of the six in-line landing platforms on the flight deck (port). The bow's 13-degree angled "ski-jump" ramp is designed to assist in launching fixed-wing aircraft - the American Lockheed F-35 Lightning II 5th-generation fighter jet was a major consideration for this feature.

Island superstructures are usually located on the starboard side.

For self-defense against maritime and airborne missile threats, Adelaide will be equipped with an Electronic Warfare (EW) suite consisting of an AN/SLQ-25 "Nixie" towed torpedo decoy and a "Nulka" missile decoy system 4 from Raphael Typhoon x 25mm Long Range Weapon System (RWS), and extreme close range defense provided by 6 x 12.7mm heavy machine guns. The Saab "GIRAFFE" radar and Saab 9LV combat system will provide the necessary situational awareness on the modern battlefield.

Additionally, Adelaide will benefit from all supporting ships and aircraft in its fleet when conducting dangerous amphibious assault operations.

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