According to information released by the Australian Department of Defense on July 30, 2021, HMAS Sydney Hobart Class guided missile destroyer of the Australian Navy is now qualified for operational duty after combat system sea qualification trials, including weapons firings off the US west coast and integrated sonar suite trials, sailing from Nanoose Bay, Canada.
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Australian Hobart-class air warfare destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG 42) (at the front) and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) conduct a Group Sail in the waters off the coast of Southern California, April 1, 2021, to improve their collaborative partnership, combined lethality exercises, and interoperability. (Picture source U.S. Navy)
The HMAS Sydney, Hobart Class guided missile destroyer passed the tests and now joins her sister ships Hobart and Brisbane as being ready for operational deployment.
Commanding Officer Sydney Commander Andrew Hough said Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers provided significant combat capability to the joint force, be it in defending naval task groups, providing fire support to troops ashore, or coordinating air defense activities with the Air Force.
Built in Adelaide by the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance, Hobart, Brisbane and Sydney are equipped with the Aegis combat system, which includes advanced phased array radar and SM–2 missiles. The Aegis provides the destroyers with advanced air defense systems capable of engaging aircraft and missiles.
Coupled with its surface and anti-submarine warfare capabilities, the HMAS Sydney destroyer has layered offensive and defensive systems to counter conventional and asymmetric threats in all spheres of naval warfare.
The keel of Sydney (V) was symbolically laid down on November 19, 2015, on the anniversary of HMAS Sydney (II)'s sinking in November 1941. She was launched on May 19, 2018, and commissioned on May 18, 2020.
The HMAS Sydney has a length of 146.7 m, a beam of 18.6 m, a draught of 7.2 m, and a fully loaded displacement of 7,000 tons. She is powered by a Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) propulsion system including two General Electric Marine model 7LM2500-SA-MLG38 gas turbines, each developing 17,500 kilowatts (23,500 hp) and two Caterpillar Bravo 16 V Bravo diesel engines, each developing 5650 kilowatts (7580 hp). The ship can reach a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h) with a maximum cruising range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h).
The HMAS Sydney is armed with 48-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launch System able to fire RIM-66 Standard 2 surface-to-air missile or RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow air defense missile, eight canister Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers, one Mark 45 Mod 4 5-inch naval gun, two Mark 32 Mod 9 two-tube torpedo launchers able to launch Eurotorp MU90 torpedoes, one Phalanx CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) and two 25mm M242 Bushmaster automatic cannons.
