The brand new guided missile destroyer (DDG) HMAS Hobart (III) was ceremoniously inducted into service by the Royal Australian Navy on Saturday, 23 September 2017, heralding a new era in warship fighting capability for the service.
In attendance at the commissioning ceremony at Garden Island Fleet Base East in Sydney were the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Defence Minister Marise Payne, and a host of officials representing the ADF, Defence, and industry.
“The commissioning of Hobart is the culmination of the hard work of thousands of Australians who built and delivered the future capability of the Royal Australian Navy,” Minister Payne said.
“The crew and shipbuilders who have brought this new capability into service are to be congratulated on their achievement.”
Designer Navantia, which was eventually brought into the fold of the consortium responsible for Hobart's construction as a shipbuilding management services provider, issued a statement declaring its pride in the roles it had played in delivering the 7,000 tonne first of class destroyer.
“Through our experience in the AWD program, Navantia Australia has developed strong partnerships with Australian industry and a deep understanding of the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Defence Force requirements,” Donato Martínez, Navantia Australia’s managing director said.
Navantia Australia’s board director and ex-chief executive of the CASG predecessor DMO Warren King said the warship is a state-of-the-art ship which will provide the Royal Australian Navy with its most capable multipurpose warfare capability.
“Lead ship of her class, HMAS Hobart is a true example of Australian defence industry capability – designed for Australia, built in Australia for Australia.”
As reported exclusively by ADM in late August, two days after commissioning Hobart will spend a week on a buoy and at sea undertaking a mariner skills evaluation conducted by the RAN’s Sea Training Group.
This will be followed by a relatively minor upgrade taking Aegis combat system software to the Australian 1.1 configuration. This is already installed on NUSHIP Brisbane, which is currently undertaking harbour sea trials at ASC in Adelaide.
October will take in firings of Hobart’s 5-inch main gun and its close-in defence weapons systems followed by five weeks alongside in Sydney conducting Aegis warfighting training, then a further fortnight of sea trials.