Royal Australian Navy Page:
Adelaide class FFG (USN: Oliver Hazard Perry FFG-7 class)
HMAS Newcastle fires a Standard SM-1 on 23 March 1994 during acceptance trials. In the future SM-1 will be replaced by SM-2MR. [Royal Australian Navy]
Specifications
NB: Current specifications are given here, with future modifications given in square brackets.
Class
| Name | No. | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned |
| Adelaide | 01 | Todd Pacific Shipyard Corporation, Seattle, USA | 29 July 1977 | 21 June 1978 | 15 November 1980 |
| Canberra | 02 | Todd Pacific Shipyard Corporation, Seattle, USA | 1 March 1978 | 1 December 1978 | 21 March 1981 |
| Sydney | 03 | Todd Pacific Shipyard Corporation, Seattle, USA | 16 January 1980 | 26 September 1980 | 29 January 1983 |
| Darwin | 04 | Todd Pacific Shipyard Corporation, Seattle, USA | 3 July 1981 | 26 March 1982 | 21 July 1984 |
| Melbourne | 05 | Australian Marine Engineering (Consolidated), Williamstown | 12 July 1985 | 5 May 1989 | 5 February 1992 |
| Newcastle | 06 | Australian Marine Engineering (Consolidated), Williamstown | 21 July 1989 | 21 February 1992 | 11 December 1993 |
General
Displacement, tons: 4,100 full load
Dimensions, feet (metres): 453 x 45 x 24.5 (sonar); 14.8 (keel) (138.1 x 13.7 x 7.5; 4.5)
Main machinery: 2 General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines developing 41,000 hp (30.6MW) sustained; 1 shaft, controlled pitch propeller
Auxiliary machinery: 4 Detroit Diesel 16V149T diesel generators [4 Caterpillar 3512 units to replace Detroit Diesels]; 2 auxiliary electrical retractable propulsors forward; 650 hp (484 kW)
Speed, knots: 29 on gas turbines; 4 on propulsors
Range, miles: 4,500 at 20 knots
Compliment: 184 ships compliment (including 18 officers); air crew additional [less after upgrades completed]
Armament
Missiles:
1 Mk.13 Mod.4 launcher with 40 Harpoon and Standard missiles:
SSM: up to 8 McDonnell Douglas RGM 84A/C Harpoon Block IB/C [to be upgraded by kits to Harpoon Block II standard]
SAM: up to 40 GDC-Pomona RIM 66B Standard SM1-MR [to be replaced by GDC-Pomona RIM 66D Standard SM2-MR]
[1 Lockheed-Martin 8-cell Mk.41 Mod.5 VLS:
SAM: 32 Raytheon RIM 162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), quadpacked]
Guns:
1 OTO Melara 3 in (76 mm)/62 cal compact (US Mk.75); dual purpose
1 General Electric/GDC 20 mm Mk.15 Vulcan Phalanx; CIWS
Up to 6-12.7 mm Machine Guns
Torpedoes:
6-324 mm Mk.32 tubes (2 triple); Honeywell Mk.46 Mod.5 (some Mk.44 remain in service); [Mk.46 to be supplemented and eventually replaced by MU90]
Countermeasures
Decoys: 2 Loral Hycor SRBOC Mk.36; fixed 6-barreled chaff and IR decoy launcher [4 British Aerospace Nulka being added; 4 round launchers; expendable hovering off-board decoys]
FEL SLQ-25; towed torpedo decoy
[Thomson Marconi TMS Sea Defender torpedo countermeasures to be added]
ESM/ECM: Raytheon SLQ-32C; intercept and jammer
Elbit EA-2118; jammer
[Rafael C-Pearl to be added]
Electronics
Radar:
Air search: Raytheon AN/SPS-49A(V)4; C-band [to be upgraded to AN/SPS-49A(V)1 standard]
Surface search/navigation: ISC Cardion SPS-55; I-band
Fire Control: Lockheed SPG-60; I/J-band
Fire Control: Sperry Mk.92 Mod.2; I/J-band [to be upgraded to Mk.92 Mod.12 standard]
IFF: Cossor AIMSMk.XII
Tacan: URN 25
Sonar:
Hull mounted: Raytheon SQS-56 (in 01-04) or EMI/Honeywell Mulloka (in 05-06); active medium-frequency [to be replaced by Thomson Marconi TMS 4131]
[Thomson Marconi TMS 5424 Petrel high-frequency mine avoidance sonar to be fitted]
[Thomson Marconi TMS 4350 Albatross towed-array torpedo-warning system to be fitted]
Optronics:
Radamec 2500; optronic director with TV, laser and IR imagers
Combat Data Systems:
NCDC using NTDS consoles and UYK 7 and UYK 43 computers.
ADACS
OE-2 STACOM; Link 11 and Link 16
Helicopters: Up to 2 Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk or Aerospatiale AS 350B Squirrel
Comments
General
For many years these vessels have been the backbone of the RAN's surface fleet. Owing to a (misguided) perception from some in the RAN that these ships were purchased instead of a purpose designed Australian class, these ships initially had a bad reputation, and nicknames such as 'plastic ship' dogged the class early in their career. Happily the class has long since outgrown both the reputation and the nicknames (although in typically Australian fashion some of the early nicknames have stuck on as signs of endearment rather than derision).
Today the Adelaides are the premier surface combatants of the navy and will continue to be so until the arrival of the Air Warfare Destroyers at the beginning of next decade. Today they are used as general purpose escorts and have been used extensively in patrolling the Persian Gulf over the past 3/4 years in support of US anti-terrorist operations, and in support of the war in Iraq (and did so during the first Gulf War and its aftermath). In this role the FFGs are used as autonomously operating units to patrol the region for contraband or otherwise unusual shipping. In this role the ship's ability to deploy two Seahawk helicopters is particularly useful, although rarely if ever used operationally. In operations closer to home the FFGs are primarily used as escorts for other vessels (principally the amphibious force) or as autonomous interceptors for shipping moving off Australia's coast. In addition, as with all major Australian surface combatant classes since the early 20th centaury, the Adelaides have from time to time been used for Search And Rescue (SAR) operations in the Southern Ocean. Owing to the small main gun the Adelaides are not used to support operations ashore except in providing a limited AAW shield to forces close to the sea.
At the moment the last four ships of the class are in the middle of an extensive upgrade program under Project SEA 1390 which will extend the life and capability of the ships. As a cost saving measure it was announced in the 2003 Defence Capability Plan that the two oldest FFGs, HMA Ships Adelaide and Canberra, would be retired following the completion of the last of the Anzac class to give an escort fleet of 12 vessels. The eventual fate of the other four vessels is unclear owing to ambiguities in publicly available material. The issue is dealt with in the Future RAN section.
History
Pre-History: The DDL Project
The genesis of the class in Australian service was the result of the cancellation of the Australian DDL (Destroyer, Light; not to be confused with DL: Destroyer Leader) project.
The DDL project was started in the mid 1960's to produce an Australian designed and built replacement for the older destroyers of the Daring and Battle classes. Originally the project had aimed to produce a class of ships with varying equipment fits which could be used effectively in the difficult Confrontation operations that the RAN was involved in at the time. In 1967 the Royal Navy showed an interest in the project, but it quickly became apparent that requirements would not sufficiently similar for a joint project to be possible. In 1969 it was decided to emphasise anti-air warfare more in the design requirements which inevitably led to a larger more sophisticated design. Finally between 1970 and 1971 YARD Australia (Yarrow Admiralty Research Department Australia) produced a preliminary design. In its final incarnation the ship had grown from a simple 1,500 ton vessel to one in the order of 4,200 tons. The ships were armed with a Standard SAM system, medium gun (probably the United Defence 5in/52cal Mk.45) advanced electronics and a pair of embarked medium helicopters (despite a stated RAN requirement for only one). Also to be noted was a propulsion system consisting of two Olympus and two Tyne gas turbines (the same machinery set as the Type 42 DDGs under design in the UK at the time).
At this point (1971-3) it was intended to build 3 to start with (direct replacements for the Daring class, expected to be completed in the late 1970s) and to follow this with further vessels later to replace the River class DEs. Jane's 1972-73 gave an estimate of 8 to 10 vessels in total.
By the early 1970s it was clear that the entire project was in trouble, with the cost of the vessels escalating rapidly. This lead to a decision by the Lance Barnard, Defence Minister of the Whitlam Government, to defer the order for the first 3 vessels on 22 August 1973, with the programme to be reassessed in 1974 while looking into foreign designs. Translated this meant that they had cancelled an indigenous option and were now looking into foreign alternatives.
In retrospect it is a great pity that the DDL project was cancelled. Despite the cost, in the DDL, the RAN had the preliminary design for a vessel that was every bit as capable as any contemporary foreign design and tailor made for Australian service. In 1973 the Australian shipbuilding industry had completed a successful series of 6 DEs and were ready for further work to keep the yards going. The cancellation of the DDLs meant a lot of lost jobs, and what little design experience there was in Australia moved overseas. In effect the Whitlam Government put an end to indigenous escort development.
Choices and ordering
In the wake of the DDL cancellation, the Whitlam Government initiated a competition for suitable foreign vessels. The principle requirements seem to have been for a long range general purpose escort that could either be used for convoy or battle group escort. At the time the RAN operated the Majestic class carrier HMAS Melbourne and where planning a replacement, similarly in the context of a broader world war against Communism (which seemed to be a distinct possibility in the Ô70s) the RAN would likely find itself convoying ships across the Pacific and Indian Oceans much as it had done in previous world wars.
The competition was quickly narrowed to two contestants, The American FFG-7 and British Type 42 DDG. The former had originally been intended in USN service to be a cheap deep water ASW/AAW patrol craft which could be used to escort convoys across the Atlantic, much like the British Flower class Corvettes of World War II. The Type 42 by comparison had been designed as a dedicated Anti Air Warfare platform, in reality it was the SeaDart Surface to Air Missile system shoehorned into the smallest hull possible (and even then cut back by Treasury demand) after the highly capable and equally expensive Type 82 class HMS Bristol. In size terms the two designs were roughly equal (the FFG-7 was smaller at 3,600 ton full load versus 4,100 ton full load for the Type 42). The critical differences were that the FFG-7 was capable of going further and faster (4,500 nm @ 20 knots vs. 4,000 nm at 18 knots), could carry two light helicopters versus one on the Type 42 and had much larger margins for growth. Critically the RAN also required that the winning design would be armed with the Mk.13 launcher and Standard SM-1 missiles (and thus compatible fire control radars) as carried by the Perth (USN: Charles F. Adams) class DDG then in service. This change would have required major design modifications to the Type 42 which would have driven up the cost. It seems to have been primarily on the basis of the fear of the Type 42 modifications proving too costly or difficult that the RAN decided for the FFG-7 class rather than for any inherent belief in the chosen design. All the same, the majority of RAN officers at the time seem to have been opposed to the FFG-7, one going so far as to describe the FFG-7 as "a second rate escort that falls short of the DDL requirement in virtually every respect".
Either way the decision was to prove a watershed in the history of the RAN being as it was a choice between two vessels that were entirely gas turbine propelled (all RAN ships of the time were either steam turbine or diesel powered). The new ships would also be fitted out with equipment that was almost entirely new to the fleet, even down to the calibre of the main gun.
The decision was announced in April 1974, when (predictably) 3 expensive Australian built DDL were replaced in the procurement schedule by 2 cheap American built FFGs (don't you just love the way politicians think!). These orders were not actually placed until 1976, by the Fraser Government, and were followed by an order for an additional ships in October 1977. These orders had been subsumed into the Follow-on Destroyer (FOD) project which aimed to fill out the RAN's Order Of Battle (OOB) through the 1980s.
Having replaced Darings in the OOB, the FOD project's next target was to replace the first of the River class DE. Initially the favourite solution was a modified Leander design that was essentially an improvement of the last two River class. After this option was dropped a selection phase of the project narrowed down the candidates to either further FFG-7 class frigates or Dutch ÔM' class frigates. In light of the improved air defence capabilities of the FFG-7, and with an eye to fleet standardisation, the FFG-7 won. This lead to a decision in September 1980 to order two FFGs from Williamstown in Melbourne, although ministerial procrastination held up final contractual agreement until February 1985. Just prior to this in April 1980 it was decided to order a further frigate from the US partially in response to growing international tensions, and partially to ensure that any slippages in the FOD project wouldn't cause holes to develop in the RAN's OOB. Given the ministerial hiccups that were to come, this proved a remarkably foresighted decision. These last three ships were ordered to the latest USN standard that differed from the earlier ships in having a longer helicopter flight deck to facilitate the carriage of larger helicopters expected during the lifetime of the vessels.
The first four frigates (all American built) entered service between November 1980 (NB: this is after the decision to purchase a further three had been taken) and July 1984. Very soon after this in January 1985 the final decision was taken to order the S-70B-2 Seahawks for the Adelaides (see below in Aircraft), and this required lengthening and modification of the transom (see below in Upgrades).
The final pair commissioned in the early 1990s, by which time the FOD project was known as the Australian Frigate project.
Upgrades
The upgrades fall into two distinct categories. The first batch of upgrades effects the three oldest Adelaides and was performed between 1991 and 1993 at the Captain Cook graving dock at Sydney's Garden Island (HMAS Darwin had been built with the modifications in line with USN production procedures). This upgrade extended the helicopter deck of ships by replacing the original almost vertical transom with a much more angled one which extended the length of the ships by 2.5 metres. In addition the RAST haul-down equipment was fitted to facilitate the operation of the Seahawk helicopter in heavy weather. The two Australian built Adelaides were completed to this standard.
A much latter and more extensive upgrade project, the FFG Upgrade Programme (FFG-UP), is underway as part of Project SEA 1390 to the four youngest of the Adelaides. The actual refits as part of the project are expected to run between 2003 and 2006 with other work to be completed by 2010. First and potentially most importantly the refits will contain an extensive SLEP element (Service Life Extension Program, a USN term which can be generally applied to mean extending the ship's life). In this case the expected yield is 10 years, increasing the service life of the four vessels involved to 35 years. This is especially significant as the two older vessels in the project were reported to be having problems in the late '90s with some sources suggest that HMAS Sydney in particular was having hull cracking reduce her effectiveness. A thorough hull survey and repair along with a complete overhauls of the LM2500 gas-turbine machinery is a major component, as is the replacement of the existing four Detroit Diesel 16V149T diesel generators with four Caterpillar 3512 units which are more powerful and are expected to require substantially less maintenance. Much of the ships cabling is also being replaced. The ships habitability is also being improved through reduced manning requirements, improved cafeteria arrangements and new air conditioning machinery.
The ships' sensors will also be extensively upgraded. The AN/SPS-49A(V)4 air search radar will be upgraded to the A(V)1 configuration which has greatly improved capabilities against small and low targets along with improved reliability. The Mk.92 fire control radar (the characteristic egg radar atop the bridge) will be upgraded to the Mod.12 standard, an improvement on the current Mod.6 standard employed in US and Taiwanese FFG7 class vessels. The new standard improves signal processing and improves capability against low-flying targets (e.g. sea-skimming missiles). In addition new solid state CWI transmitters will be fitted to allow the ships to control SM-2 and ESSM .
The sonar systems are being completely replaced with the TMS 4131 hull mounted sonar being fitted, along with new capabilities being gained by fitting the TMS 4350 torpedo defence system and TMS 5424 mine-avoidance sonar. The FFG-UP also originally called for the fitting of a towed array sonar, although as this ha not been funded it seems that this has been quietly dropped. The hope is for a stepwise improvement in the ship's ability to detect and persecute sub-surface threats.
The first ship to be so treated, HMAS Sydney went into refit at Garden Island in Sydney in the hands of ADI (a company jointly owned by Transfield of Australia and Thales of France). She started the refit in June 2002 and was went out on post refit trials on 6 December 2004. HMAS Darwin is next, to be followed by the two Australian built units.
Nomenclature
The ships of the Adelaide carry some of the oldest and proudest names in the history of the RAN, they are:
HMAS Adelaide: Second ship to bear the name. The first Adelaide was a modified Chatham class light cruiser built during World War I by Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney and finally commissioned in 1922. She spent much of the 1930s in reserve, before recommissioning and serving with distinction through World War II.
HMAS Canberra: Second ship to bear the name. The first Canberra was a Kent class heavy cruiser (the so called 'Treaty Cruisers') built in the late 1920s by John Brown & Co. Clydebank. She served primarily in Australian waters in World War II, sinking the German auxiliary cruiser (an armed and disguised merchantman used for commerce raiding) HSK Ketty Brovig. She was lost in action against the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Savo Island on 7th August 1942, regrettably with heavy loss of life, including Captain Frank Getting RAN, the CO.
HMAS Sydney: Fourth ship to bear the name. The first Sydney was a Chatham class light cruiser built in Glasgow prior to World War I. She has the honour of being the first RAN ship to sink another ship in combat, sinking he KMS Emden on 9 November 1914 off North Keeling Island; she subsequently served with the Second Light Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy (RN) out of Scapa Flow.
The second Sydney was a modified Leander class light cruiser built in the mid 1930s and originally started as HMS Phaeton for the RN. During World War II she sank the Italian light cruiser Bartolomo Colleoni on 19 July 1940. She was lost with all hands in a duel with the auxiliary cruiser HSK Komoran (which was also sunk) on 19th November 1941. This sinking is still one of the most contentious events in the RAN's history, resulting in countless books and multiple government studies/reports/commissions, most recently a parliamentary committee in 1998.
The third Sydney was a Majestic class light fleet aircraft carrier delivered in December 1948, and started as HMS Terrible for the RN in 1943. She severed during the Korean War (the only RAN carrier to go into combat), before decommissioning into reserve in 1956. She was recommissioned as a fast transport during the Vietnam War, and earne herself the nickname 'Vung Tau Ferry'.
HMAS Darwin: First ship to bear the name.
HMAS Melbourne: Third ship to bear the name. The first Melbourne was a Chatham class light cruiser built in Glasgow prior to World War I. During World War I she served with the Second Light Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy (RN) out of Scapa Flow. She was scrapped in the late 1920s.
The second Melbourne was a Majestic class light fleet aircraft carrier delivered in 1956, and started as HMS Majestic for the RN in 1943. She was the most modern and powerful aircraft carrier the RAN has ever operated, and was the flagship of the RAN continuously until her decommissioning in 1982.
HMAS Newcastle: First ship to bear the name.