Login
iscover
One of the Royal Australian Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyers, HMAS Brisbane, has successfully completed a full-power trial, giving the ship an opportunity to stretch its legs off the coast of Sydney.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane recently stretched her legs off the coast of Sydney to conduct a full-power trial – the power trial is not a speed test to see how fast a ship can go. It is a well-calibrated examination of turbine speed and shaft rotation against a range of parameters.
HMAS Brisbane is the second of three Hobart Class guided-missile destroyers, the most complex and capable warships Australia has operated. The ship, alongside HMA Ships Hobart and Sydney, will primarily provide air defence for accompanying ships, in addition to land forces and infrastructure in coastal areas.
Petty Officer Marine Technician Gary Bissett explained it was another tick in the box for the Steel Cat’s engineering team: “Getting off the coast gives us the nautical freedom to come up to speed within the limitations set by the builders and the tests we need to conduct. We are working closely with civilian contractors from Thales and General Electric to ensure Brisbane is performing to the best of her capabilities, and ready to face whatever the challenges that lay ahead.”
One of the new engineering team members is Leading Seaman Marine Technician Katie Welch. Her role in the trial was to work with industry partners, utilising the tools required for the calibration.
“It was a great experience working closely with the contractors, the whole team had such a good vibe. The power trial was successful in the requirement to demonstrate the integrity of the shaft line, following an extensive maintenance period for the ship,” LS Welch said.
The Hobart Class' Spanish counterparts entered service with the Spanish Navy beginning in the early 2000s, working alongside key NATO and US maritime assets.
When deployed to the Persian Gulf, the F100s became the first foreign Aegis-equipped ships to fully integrate into a US Navy Carrier Strike Group, while the class has also successfully deployed as the flagship of NATO's Maritime Group Standing Reaction Force, highlighting the individual and interoperable capabilities of Navy's new destroyers.
Other aspects of power trials include determining the ship’s performance in terms of speed, power and propeller revolutions under prescribed ship conditions.
This aids greatly in validating ships information for navigation purposes, such as time required for given speed, speed calculations, distanced travelled and fuel consumption rates.
The trial marks a significant milestone for Brisbane, as the ship and her crew prepare for her work-up evaluations in the coming months.
The vessels will be capable across the full spectrum of joint maritime operations, from area air defence and escort duties, right through to peacetime national tasking and diplomatic missions.
The Hobart Class combat system is built around the Aegis Weapon System. Incorporating the state-of-the-art phased array radar, AN/SPY 1D(V), will provide an advanced air defence system capable of engaging enemy aircraft and missiles at ranges in excess of 150 kilometres.
While based upon the Spanish F100s, the Australian vessels incorporate a number of modifications and Australian-specific structural/design and combat system modifications to provide a uniquely Australian surface combatant with international provenance.
