Australian Defense Ministry: Construction of Heli-Carriers Goes Ahead of Schedule

13.12.2011 Construction of the lead Canberra-class helicopter carrier at Spanish shipyard Navantia is on schedule, the second ship HMAS Adelaide is built ahead of schedule, said Australian defense minister Stephen Smith and minister for defence material Jason Clare on Dec 13 at commissioning ceremony of landing ship HMAS Choules, reports Australian Navy's website.

Recall that Australian Navy tied a $3-bln contract for two prospective helicopter carriers with Navantia in 2007. The hulls are built by Navantia, bridges – by BAE Systems at Williamstown Shipyard in Melbourne; ship assembling will be also carried out by BAE Systems.

At the moment, Navantia has constructed all 105 sections of Canberra's hull, launched her, and conducts finishing works including assemblage of medical compartment, living accommodations, and store rooms. The hull is expected to leave Spain on heavy transport ship in July 2012 and arrive in Melbourne in Aug 2012.

Four bridges and 3 mast elements of HMAS Canberra have been built at Williamstown Shipyard since June 2011. The hull-to-island attachment is scheduled in the end of 2012.

Kiel for HMAS Adelaide was laid down in Feb 2011. By now, 60 out of 105 sections have been mounted on the slipway, 27 are under construction, and 18 are being painted before putting on the slipway. The ship is expected to be launched in third quarter of 2012.

Over 400,000 working hours were spent on the ships' construction in Australia.

Canberra-class landing ships will be the largest warships ever operated by Australian Navy. Displacement is 27,851 tons; length is 230.8 meters; beam is 32 meters; draft is 7.18 meters; speed is 20.5 knots; crew is 243 men (max 279 men), troop capacity is 978 men (max 1,124 men); deck capacity is 3,290 sq meters (up to 100 armored vehicles), helicopter hangar capacity is 990 square meters; air wing is 12-24 helicopters; armament is 4 x 25-mm deck-based stabilized gun mounts.