First RAN Landing Helicopter Dock nears delivery

The first Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ship under construction for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has sailed on her final contractor sea trials before delivery to the Australian government.

Nuship Canberra departed Williamstown shipyard on 12 August, and is currently undertaking trials in Port Phillip Bay and off the southern coast of New South Wales before returning to Williamstown around the end of August.
 
The trials involve testing of the combat and communication systems along with some platform systems trials. Onboard are personnel from BAE Systems, the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), and RAN officers and sailors who will crew the ship once delivered; as well as representatives from BAE Systems subcontractors Navantia, Saab, L3 and Teekay.

Bill Saltzer, director, BAE Systems Maritime, said:  ‘This is the last major element of a very complex and comprehensive test programme to prove the capabilities of the ship and its systems prior to delivery to our customer.
 
‘Getting this ship to this stage has been a collaborative effort between BAE Systems and the DMO. Our two project teams have worked closely throughout the project and now we are in the home stretch for the Canberra.’
 
The trails will also allow crew to familiarise themselves with the ship following their training at the BAE Systems facility at Mascot, NSW, in which simulation technology was developed and utilised to achieve technical competence in a cost-effective environment. The use of virtual training within LHD is a first for the RAN and the trails will provide the team with valuable feedback regarding the effectiveness of the training programme.

Nuship Canberra is the first of two 27,000 tonne LHDs being built for the RAN - the largest ships ever built for the Australian Defence Force. The second in class, Nuship Adelaide, is on track to begin sea trials in the second quarter of 2015.