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, BAE Systems Maritime Australia (formerly known as ASC Shipbuilding) built the three Hobart class ships.
Ship blocks were built at our shipyard in Williamstown, Victoria, before being transported to Osborne for outfitting and consolidation. Our workforce at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide provided shipbuilding capability to the AWD Alliance for more than a decade.
DDG Enterprise delivers for HMAS Hobart
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, followed by HMAS Brisbane 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 as part of the Commonwealth’s move to the 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 and 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.
Technology training
We provide advanced technology training to the Navy for all three air warfare destroyers. This ensures Navy personnel are confident with various technology onboard the ships.
The Hobart class is equipped with modern sonar systems, decoys, surface-launched torpedoes, and an array of effective close-in defensive weapons. These capabilities ensure that the Hobart class have the layered defensive and offensive capability required to counter conventional and asymmetric threats.