Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock

The "Canberra" class Landing Helicopter Dock are new amphibious assault ships being developed for the Royal Australian Navy. The Australian Government has approved a AU$3 billion project to build two LHDs, which will have air support, amphibious assault, transport and command centre roles. They are planned to replace in turn HMAS "Tobruk" and one of the RAN's two current "Kanimbla" class vessels.

Program overview

The Australian government's requirements include the capacity to transport up to 1,000 troops and 150 vehicles, including the new M1A1 Abrams tank in service with the Australian Army, have six helicopter spots on a full length flight deck for a mix of both transport and battlefield support helicopters, and a fully equipped hospital. On 20 January 2006, it was announced that the two ships would be named "Canberra" and "Adelaide". [" [http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Hilltpl.cfm?CurrentId=5368 Next Generation of Naval Ships to Reflect a Rich History of Service] ". Australian Minister for Defence media release. 20 January 2006.]

In August 2005, the government chose two designs to participate in a run off. [" [http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Hilltpl.cfm?CurrentId=5039 Government approves first stage of Amphibious Ships project] ". Australian Minister for Defence media release. 11 August 2005.] The first was a modified version of the French "Mistral" class, which was proposed by the French company Armaris. The second design was based on the Spanish Buque de Proyección Estratégica design, proposed by the Spanish company Navantia.Daniel Cotterill [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19209307-5002142,00.html 'Rivalry building for amphibious ships'] in "The Australian". 27 May 2006.] The Navantia design was larger, at approximately 27,000 tonnes gross displacement, but the first unit for the Spanish Navy had only just started construction, making it an unknown quantity in terms of capability. By contrast, the French design was smaller, at approximately 24,000 tonnes, but had entered service with the French Navy.

In June 2007, the Australian Minister for Defence announced that Tenix Defence was the preferred tenderer for the construction of the two large amphibious landing ships at a cost of $3 billion. [http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/NelsonMintpl.cfm?CurrentId=6780] The ships are due to enter service from 2013. Tenix had proposed to build the Navantia design in partnership with the Spanish company.

The Australian Government stated that around 25 percent of the value of the project would involve work in Australia. This would be largely limited to construction of the superstructures of the two ships in Tenix's (now BAE Systems') shipyard in Williamstown, Victoria, with some systems work done in South Australia. Consolidation of the two ships and systems integration would occur in Williamstown. To allow work to be done at Williamstown, financial support has been provided by the State Government of Victoria "to prepare the Williamstown shipyard to participate in future projects such as AWD module construction and the large amphibious ships project. The Government is also supporting a skills training program for these projects." [ [http://www.business.vic.gov.au/BUSVIC/STANDARD//PC_62030.html] ]

Indicative specifications

The "Canberra" class ships will be the largest warships ever operated by the Royal Australian Navy and will displace up to 7,000 tonnes more than the RAN's last aircraft carrier, HMAS "Melbourne". [Hugh White [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/12/1089484299506.html?from=storylhs 'Our defence chiefs are thinking big - too big'] in "The Age" 13 July 2004.] Each of the ships will be able to carry an infantry battalion.

Comparative statistics

Source: Borgu (2004) [http://www.aspi.org.au/publications/publication_details.aspx?ContentID=55&pubtype=6 A Capability of First Resort?] page 6.

Aviation capability

The "Canberra" class ships will provide the Australian Defence Force with greatly increased naval aviation capabilities, with each ship carrying up to 24 Army and Navy helicopters. These aircraft will include Army and Navy MRH-90 transport helicopters, Army Tiger helicopter gunships and Navy S-70B Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters. Although the ships will be fitted with a ski-ramp and could be certified to operate STOVL aircraft, they will not be fitted with the radar needed to operate fixed-wing aircraft.Gillis (2007). Pg 29.]

While the tender released for the "Canberra" class did not specify that the ships needed to be capable of operating STOVL fixed wing aircraft, [Minister for Defence Media Release 2 May 2006. [http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/NelsonMintpl.cfm?CurrentId=5597 Requests for Tender for $2 Billion Amphibious Ships Released to Australian Industry] ] it has been proposed that such a capacity be included in the final design. In 2004 a review by the Australian Parliament's Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade recommended that the Australian government should consider purchasing a small number of F-35B Lightning II‎ for the Fleet Air Arm to operate from the "Canberra" class ships. [Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade (2004) [http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/maritime/report/chapter5.pdf Australia's Maritime Strategy] . Page 95.] In March 2008 the RAN was reported to have requested that the government purchase a third "Canberra" class ship and VTOL aircraft. The same report states that the government was unlikely to approve this request. [cite news |first=Ian |last=McPhedran |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Royal Australian Navy's wish list of $4b |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23426308-662,00.html |work= |publisher=Herald Sun |date=2008-03-25 |accessdate=2008-03-26]

The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's recommendation was made on the grounds that STOVL aircraft would provide deployed Australian forces with air defence and close air support. Despite the slight reduction in range and payload of STOVL F-35B compared to CTOL F-35A (and C) aircraft, they are inherently flexible in terms of operation, and can provide organic close air support right at the edge of the Field of Battle Area, which land based aircraft cannot do. An order of F-35Bs for the "Canberra" class could form part of the planned order of up to 100 F-35s for the Royal Australian Air Force. The Navantia ships have a ski-jump included as part of the basic design, and are designed to operate and sustain a mixed jet and helicopter carrier air group of up to 36 aircraft for the Spanish Navy.

Armament

The "Canberra" class ships will be each armed with four RAFAEL Typhoon 25 mm remote weapons systems placed at the ships' corners. These weapons will be used to defend against asymmetric threats such as small boats. It is unusual for large warships such as the "Canberra" class to not be armed with anti-aircraft missiles and close-in weapon systems for protection against missiles. The RAN believes that the new "Hobart" class destroyers and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft will be sufficient to protect the "Canberra"s from attack. [cite web |url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/australias-canberra-class-lhds-03384/ |title=Australia's Canberra Class LHDs |accessdate=2007-11-23 |format= |work=Defense Industry Daily ]

ee also

* Procurement programme of the Royal Australian Navy
* Victorian Defence Industry
* Wasp class amphibious assault ship

References

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External links

* [http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/defenceannualreport_2003_2004/report/chap3.pdf Report by Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade]
* Defence Materiel Organisation [http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/msd/jp2048/jp2048ph4A_4B.cfm JP 2048 Phase 4a and 4b - Amphibious Ships]
*Defense Industry Daily [http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2006/05/australia-issues-official-tender-for-a-20b-large-amphibious-ships-program/index.php Australia Issues Official Tender for A$ 2.0B Large Amphibious Ships Program]
* [http://www.amphib.com.au/ Official ADI large amphibious ship proposal website]
* [http://www.lhd.tenix.com/ Tenix/Navantia LHD Proposal] (successful bid)