Australia Pre-Buys AEGIS, Establishes SEA 4000 AWD Program Council
Posted 13-Dec-2005 07:11

AEGIS Combat Control
DID has covered Australia's 3-ship, A$ 6 billion (USD $4.5 billion) SEA 4000 Air Warfare Destroyer program in some depth before. The project continues to move forward, with Australia placing an A$ 1 billion (USD $750 million) pre-order for key components of the AEGIS Combat System and setting up an Alliance Principals' Council for the program.

The AEGIS system components are being procured despite the fact that the SEA 4000 destroyer does not yet have a finalized ship design.

Spain's F100 Frigate
Australia's Minister of Defence Senator Hill said the Government has approved the purchase of three Aegis Weapon Systems from the United States Navy to reduce project risks and capital costs.

"The Aegis Weapon System comprises the core command and control system, phased array radar and missile launch system capability," Senator Hill said. "Placing the order for the systems now allows the United States to continue manufacturing the systems for Australia without halting its production line bringing about greater efficiency and achieving considerable savings. The purchase will also maximise opportunity for Australian industry to provide sub-systems such as communications, electronic warfare, sonar, electro-optical sensors and other equipment."

"...This decision maintains the Government's option in mid-2007 at Second Pass to choose either the Evolved Design [DID: based on the American DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyer] being developed by Gibbs & Cox or the F-100 frigate military off the shelf design provided by Navantia of Spain."

Both ships are built around the AEGIS radar and combat system.


Arleigh Burke Flt. IIA
In November 2004, Sen. Hill announced that South Australia will be home to the new headquarters of the Air Warfare Destroyer project creating up to 200 additional jobs, as well as generating specialised design work for contractors throughout Australia.

South Australia will also be home to the new AWD Systems Centre - the Headquarters of the project that will draw together Defence and industry partners to ensure effective decision making and provide a focus for design related activity. The systems center will include representatives from the Alliance Partners: the Commonwealth of Australia, the shipbuilder ASC, the systems integrator Raytheon, the ship designer Gibbs & Cox, and possibly others down the road. Work is expected to commence in the new center early in 2006.

To mesh with that infrastructure, an Alliance Principals' Council has been established to build strong team partnerships between the key partners of the SEA 4000 Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Program. Members of the Principals' Council include:

Vice-Admiral Chris Ritchie, RAN (Rtd), just appointed as the Chairman and an independent member of the Council
Lieutenant General David Hurley, Chief of Capability Development Group
Dr Stephen Gumley, CEO of Australia's Defence Materiel Organisation procurement agency
Mr John Prescott, Chairman of the program's shipbuilder ASC
Mr Dan Smith, Executive Vice President of Raytheon Integrated Defence Systems, the preferred bidder for the Combat System-System Engineer contract for combat system integration and maintenance.

This project has been a long time in coming. We paid of our Adams class destroyers yeas ago, and have only had our Perry and Meko-200 frigates in the meantime. From what I've read, the Gibbs & Cox design is the favourite.

Australia is going to need a whole lot of destroyers, frigates, and patrol boats in order to sink boatloads of muslim terrorists and illegal aliens.

tag

Outstanding!  I sense another trip to Oz in the making.  

I LOVE VB beer.

Purchasing the system before they're anywhere near integration is a mistake.

This is the reward for being one of our most trusted allies. I say give them what they want.  The AUSSIES can only help us.  Now only if their citizens would stop smuggling drugs and getting whacked.

Only three ships?

Quoted: Purchasing the system before they're anywhere near integration is a mistake.

Can't be further from right.

Aegis is an integrated system. It has demonstrated its ability to be integrated into 4 different ship classes already. Also if you have the weapons system you can design a ship to support it.

Quoted: Quoted: Purchasing the system before they're anywhere near integration is a mistake. Can't be further from right. Aegis is an integrated system. It has demonstrated its ability to be integrated into 4 different ship classes already. Also if you have the weapons system you can design a ship to support it.

Plus, they do have 'the ship' options on the table.  Either the F100, or the DDG 51.  Or Varients thereof.  Ships that already have the 'integration'.

A Flight IIA DDG-51 would be a good choice.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Purchasing the system before they're anywhere near integration is a mistake. Can't be further from right. Aegis is an integrated system. It has demonstrated its ability to be integrated into 4 different ship classes already. Also if you have the weapons system you can design a ship to support it. Plus, they do have 'the ship' options on the table.  Either the F100, or the DDG 51.  Or Varients thereof.  Ships that already have the 'integration'. A Flight IIA DDG-51 would be a good choice.

Excellent point.

Quoted: Outstanding!  I sense another trip to Oz in the making.   I LOVE VB beer.

I will now look into the future... LWilde's trip will consist of flying to Oz, hopping onboard the ship, hitting a few switches, saying "It works I'm giving it the green light", then hitting the bars.

Just make sure you help us out when we have to take on China in about ten or so years.

Quoted: Just make sure you help us out when we have to take on China in about ten or so years.

I think that's what the Aussies are saying to the US, too.

Austrailia, Japan, SK, Vietnam, the Phillipines... Are all likely to clash with China's policies in the region.

Don`t think for one minute that the chinese aren`t keeping their eyes on this. First Japan, now Australia. Everybody knows that Taiwan wants Aegis real bad. I wouldn`t bet against seeing South Korea getting Aegis in less than 5 years. Being confronted by a coalition of interoperable highly capable AAW platforms makes the PLAAF and PLAN look a lot less threatening.

Quoted: Don`t think for one minute that the chinese aren`t keeping their eyes on this. First Japan, now Australia. Everybody knows that Taiwan wants Aegis real bad. I wouldn`t bet against seeing South Korea getting Aegis in less than 5 years. Being confronted by a coalition of interoperable highly capable AAW platforms makes the PLAAF and PLAN look a lot less threatening.

Already in the works.

KDX-III

First ship expected in commission in 2008.

There were guys talking some funny English around the office today.