Lockheed Martin and RAN Test AEGIS Combat System

Lockheed Martin and the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance Team (Australian Department of Defence, ASC Shipbuilding, Navantia and Raytheon Australia) recently completed sea acceptance trials on HMAS HOBART, the first of three AEGIS-equipped Air Warfare Destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The primary focus of these trials was to test and verify the ship platform and its ability to support the combat system, including demonstration and test of the AEGIS combat system operations across multiple warfare areas in an at-sea environment.

“This is yet another significant milestone for the Commonwealth and for the Aegis combat system aboard Australia’s first HOBART-class destroyer, capable of simultaneously defending against advanced air, surface and subsurface threats,” said Jim Sheridan, Lockheed Martin vice president of Naval Combat & Missile Defense Systems. “Having these three destroyers with the AEGIS combat system provides Australia with new game changing capabilities to address modern threats.”

The HOBART-class destroyers are being built under Australia’s SEA 4000 program, which will ultimately deliver three advanced multi-mission ships by the end of 2019. They will be Australia’s first vessels equipped with the AEGIS weapon system, which integrates commercial-off-the-shelf technology and open architecture into the combat system.