The Australian Hunter class frigate Program takes next step.

According to information published by BAE Systems on February 9, 2022, the Hunter Class Frigate Program has successfully held a major engineering review, which defines how the Australian Combat System integrates into the Global Combat Ship reference ship design.
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Artist rendering of future Australian Hunter-class frigate (Picture source: BAE Systems)

The year-long System Definition Review (SDR), involving work by BAE Systems’ engineering teams in Australia and the UK, has established a new baseline design for the Hunter class frigate and builds on the sovereign complex warship design capability at South Australia’s Osborne Naval Shipyard.

The SDR is the second major evaluation of the ship’s design and demonstrates how it accommodates the range of capabilities required by the Australian Government, including the Aegis and Australian Interface Combat Management Systems, the CEAFAR2 phased array radar and integration of the Seahawk Romeo Maritime Combat Helicopter.

These changes introduce significant leading-edge combat system capability, ready to meet the Royal Australian Navy’s needs.

Only recently, BAE Systems transferred more than two million digital artefacts from the UK to Australia. The first prototyping unit has also recently been completed at the Osborne shipyard, underscoring the strong progress on the Hunter program.

After closing out the actions identified in this review, the Hunter program will progress to the next major engineering review, the Preliminary Design Review, which is a technical assessment that ensures the design is operationally effective, and detailed design and planning can commence.

The Hunter-class frigate is a future class of frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to replace the Anzac class. Construction is expected to begin in 2022, with the first of nine vessels to enter service in 2031.

The Hunter-class frigate will have an 8,800-tonne (8,700-long-ton) full load displacement and will be approximately 150 meters (492 ft 2 in) in length. The vessel will be capable of sailing in excess of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) and will have a full complement of 180 crew.