What type of ship is an AWD or DDG?
The term 'air warfare destroyer' (AWD) — NATO designation DDG — describes a ship dedicated to the protection of accompanying ships, coastal land forces and coastal infrastructure from aircraft and missile attack.
The Hobart class AWDs carry a helicopter for surveillance, conduct surface and undersea warfare and carry naval gunfire capabilities.
Building the Hobart class ships
As part of the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance, ASC Shipbuilding (now BAE Systems Maritime Australia) and Raytheon led the construction of the three Hobart class ships.
Each ship was designed by Navantia. BAE Systems Australia and Forgacs were among companies who supplied blocks into the program.
Ship blocks were built at:
- our shipyard in Williamstown, Victoria;
- the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, South Australia; and
- Forgacs’ operations in Newcastle, New South Wales.
The ASC Shipbuilding workforce at Osborne provided shipbuilding capability to the AWD Alliance for more than a decade.
Capability Life Cycle Management
In our original role as Managing Contractor – Destroyer Enterprise, we led the transition into service for each ship.
The lead ship HMAS Hobart was commissioned into service in 2017. HMAS Brisbane followed in 2018 and HMAS Sydney in 2020.
We continued as managing contractor leading the sustainment work for the three Destroyers until 2024.
In 2022, we were appointed the Capability Life Cycle Manager (CLCM) for the Destroyer Enterprise. This was part of the Commonwealth’s move to a new maritime sustainment model.
The CLCM role went ‘live’ on 1 July 2024. Our role is to deliver a standardised sustainment approach across the Navy’s fleet. This occurs across all types of sustainment activity including engineering, maintenance, supply chain and project management.
Co-located at the Garden Island Navy base in Sydney, we ensure best practice sustainment models deliver the highest capability and maximum days at sea for these complex warships.
Destroyer Capability Enhancement (DCE) program
We play a critical role in the Commonwealth’s DCE program, delivering significant upgrades to each Hobart class destroyer.
These upgrades include the integration of a Tomahawk cruise missile capability, advanced new equipment and an upgraded Aegis combat system (Baseline 9).
At the Osborne Naval Shipyard, the upgrade for the first ship HMAS Hobart is in progress. All three destroyers were originally constructed at Osborne, reinforcing the shipyard’s enduring role in sustaining and enhancing the Royal Australian Navy’s surface fleet.
