The Canberra Class Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD), also known
as a Landing Helicopter Dock, project will provide the Australian Defence Force
with one of the most capable and sophisticated air-land-sea amphibious
deployment systems in the world.
These 27,000 tonne ships will be able to land a force of
over 2,000 personnel by helicopter and water craft, along with all their
weapons, ammunition, vehicles and stores.
Characteristics
The largest ships ever built for the Royal Australian Navy,
the LHDs are being built as a collaboration between Navantia and BAE Systems -
Maritime.
The construction is being done using the modular approach
whereby the ship is divided into modules, which are built and fitted out as
discrete units, before being welded together to form the completed ship. This
allows the ship to be built at a number of different sites across the shipyard
before being brought together for final joining.
Construction of the hull to the level of the flight deck,
including the majority of fitting out will be undertaken at Navantia's
Ferrol-Fene shipyard in north-west Spain. The hull will then be shipped to
BAES' Williamstown shipyard in Victoria for the installation of the island
structure. The island modules will be constructed at a number of sites around
Australian before being moved to Williamstown for final installation on the
flight deck.
The ship's roles are to:
embark, transport
and deploy an embarked force (Army in the case of the ADF but could equally be
an allied Army or Marines), along with their equipment and aviation units, and
carry out/support
humanitarian missions.
Therefore the requirement is for a multipurpose ship able to
operate in both these roles, but not necessarily simultaneously, owing to the
differing configuration requirements.
The first LHD, named HMAS Canberra, is due to be
commissioned in 2014 and the second ship, HMAS Adelaide, is planned to
commission in 2016.
The ship is a conventional steel mono hull design with the
superstructure located on the starboard side of the flight deck. There are four
main decks: the Well Dock and Heavy Vehicle Deck for heavy vehicles and/or
cargo; Main Accommodation Deck, including the Primary Casualty Reception
Facility (PCRF); Hangar and Light Vehicle Deck for light weight vehicles and
cargo; and the Flight Deck.
The LHD has been designed with the shallowest possible draft
to allow her to operate in secondary ports and harbours as well as manoeuvre
tactically in the shallow waters common in the littoral regions. Maximum speed
is in excess of 20kn with a range of 6,000nm, a sustained maximum speed of 19kn
under full-load conditions and an economic cruising speed of 15kn with a range
of 9,000nm. She can also reverse with full directional control at up to 8kn.
The LHD has a stern ramp/door that provides access to the
well dock for landing craft and vehicles along with a fixed ramp (steel beach)
between the well dock and the heavy vehicle/cargo deck (1,410m2). Additionally
two lateral ramp doors are located on the starboard side and provide wharf
access to the heavy vehicle/cargo deck for vehicles up to 65T. Vehicular access
between the heavy and light vehicle decks is achieved via a fixed ramp located
on the port side.
The well dock is 69.3m long and 16.8m wide (1,165m2) and the
LHD will normally carry four LCM 1E. An additional four RHIBs can be carried
behind the LCM 1Es, however this will be mission dependant rather than a normal
load out. The well dock has been designed to handle water craft of allied
nations, including LCUs, amphibious vehicles and LCACs.
The main accommodation deck is located above the well dock
and heavy vehicle/cargo deck and includes crew accommodation, mess decks,
medical spaces, galley facilities, office spaces, and recreation rooms.
Accommodation is provided for 1400 personnel; approximately 400 ship’s company
including the watercraft and flight deck crews and 1000 embarked force personnel
including the PCRF, embarked flight, HQ staff and landing force. The LHD will
be jointly crewed with personnel from Navy, Army and the Air Force forming the
ship’s company.
The LHD's flight deck is 202.3m long and 32m wide (4750m2),
allowing the ship to operate a range of ADF rotary wing aircraft including:
MRH90 helicopter
CH-47 Chinook
helicopter
Blackhawk
helicopter
S-70B-2 Seahawk
Armed
Reconnaisance Helicopter
Romeo Seahawk
The flight deck has been configured with six spots on the
port side for medium sized aircraft such as the NRH 90 or Blackhawk, which
allows for simultaneous takeoff and landing operations; alternatively it can
support simultaneous takeoff and landing operations of four CH-47 Chinooks.
There are two aircraft elevators – one aft of the flight
deck and one fwd of the island on the stbd side - that can accommodate medium
sized helicopters, with the after one able to accommodate larger helicopters
such as CH 47. Both aircraft elevators service the hangar and light
vehicle/cargo deck and the fwd elevator is dual-roled for stores and personnel.
Between the flight deck and the accommodation deck is a
contiguous hangar and light vehicle deck; the hanger (990m2) occupying the
after section of the deck whilst the light vehicle deck (1880m2) is located on
the forward section of the deck. The hanger can accommodate up to 8 medium
sized helicopters with 18 medium sized helicopters able to be accommodated if
the light vehicle deck is also used.
There is a cargo lift that can be used to transfer 20-foot
ISO containers and vehicles up to a weight of 16 tonnes between the heavy and
light vehicle decks. There are also lifts for ammunition, provisions and
casualties. Up to 110 vehicles, depending on the size and configuration, can be
loaded across the two vehicles decks.
The Command and Control (C2) and Combat Systems will consist
of:
Combat Management
System
Extensive ICT
infrastructure to support the ADF’s Command Support Systems and provide C2
capability for the embarked force
3D Air Search
Radar
Helicopter Control
and Surface Radar
Navigation Radar
IFF capability,
including Mode S
ESM/ECM Suite
Integrated
communications system (internal and external), including a Message Handling
System, Link 11 and 16, civil and military Satellite Communications
Electro Optical
and IR surveillance systems
Integrated
Navigation System, including an integrated bridge, navigation sensors, AIS and
WECDIS.
The LHD will be fitted with a number of defensive systems
including:
Anti-Torpedo Towed
Defense System (Nixie)
Four 20 mm
automated guns
6 x 12.7 mm
machine guns
Active missile
decoy system – Nulka (weight and space reserve)
Major Statistics
Length Overall
230.82m
Moulded Beam
32.00m
Beam Waterline
29.50m
Flight Deck height
27.50m
Draft at Full Load
Displacement 7.08m
Full Load
Displacement 27,500 tonnes
The LHD utilises an electric drive system similar to that
used by major cruise companies such as Cunard. The propulsion/generating plant
includes the following main elements:
One gas turbine
(LM 2500) turbo generator of 19,160kW
Two MAN 16V32/40
diesel generators of 7,448 kW each
Two Siemens
azimuth POD units of 11.0 MW each fitted with two propellers of approx 4.5m
diameter
Two bow thrusters
of 1,500kW each
One
Progener-Mitsubishi S16MPTA emergency diesel generator of 1,350kW
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