The second LHD amphibious ship for the RAN, NUSHIP Adelaide, has arrived in Sydney after departing BAE Systems’ Williamstown shipyard in Melbourne to begin sea trials on June 17.
Adelaide arrived in Sydney on Friday and is due to be dry-docked so that its hull and flightdeck can be cleaned and painted. The LHD will then set sail and undertake further sea trials during the return voyage to Melbourne, where it is anticipated to arrive in mid-July.
“We will undertake approximately 240 hours of testing over 20 days to ensure all systems perform to their capability,” said Bill Saltzer, BAE Systems Australia’s director of maritime.
“Some of the trials will run concurrently, and cover everything from basic systems operations such as alarms to the ship’s manoeuvrability while at sea. We are on track to deliver NUSHIP Adelaide at the end of September this year. The ship is even more ready than HMAS Canberra was for her first sea trials, reinforcing that we have implemented lessons learned from the first of class, and we have continued to improve our productivity.”
HMAS Canberra was formally commissioned into the fleet in November. An in-depth feature article on helicopter flight trials from HMAS Canberra (known as first of class flight trials – FoCFT) appears in the July issue of Australian Aviation.
