Techport Australia holds keel laying for Australian Navy's second vessel of Hobart class AWDs
A keel-laying ceremony for "Brisbane", second vessel in a series of three Hobart class Australian Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD), a key milestone project worth $8bn, was held on Monday at Techport Australia, Adelaide, the South Australia Gov't press release said.
“The first ship is nearly fully consolidated and blocks are underway for the third ship,” Premier Jay Weatherill said.
Construction of the AWDs involves the fabrication of 90 separate steel blocks, 30 for each ship, as well as three sonar blocks, one for each ship, at a number of shipyards in Australia and overseas. ASC in Adelaide is the principal shipbuilder in the project. BAE Systems in Melbourne, Forgacs in Newcastle and Navantia in Spain are also building blocks. These blocks are being together by ASC at the South Australian-owned Techport Australia Common User Facility where the ships are being assembled.
Following consolidation, the destroyers will be launched using Techport Australia’s shiplift and then undergo a series of sea trials and tests, prior to their delivery to the Navy.
