The ''Canberra class is a ship class of two landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Planning to upgrade the navy's amphibious fleet began in 2000, based on Australian experiences leading the International Force for East Timor peacekeeping operation. With a new climate for growing Australian Navy spending, a desire existed for forward defence capability for landing and supporting troops on Asian territory, that had never existed in Australian history, even with the old light fleet carriers, and in the 1970s. In 2004, French company Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) and Spanish company Navantia were invited to tender proposals, with DCN offering the and Navantia proposing the "Buque de Proyección Estratégica" design (later commissioned as ). The Spanish design was selected in 2007, with Navantia responsible for construction of the ships from the keel to the flight deck, and BAE Systems Australia handling the fabrication of the combat and communications systems.Engineering & Technology Finally, Siemens (Germany) supplied and fitted the azimuth thrusters.
Construction of the first ship, , commenced in late 2008, with the hull launched in early 2011, and sea trials in early 2014. Canberra was commissioned in November 2014. Work on the second vessel, , started in early 2010. Adelaide was commissioned in December 2015. They are the largest vessels ever operated by the RAN, with a displacement of .
The ships are home-ported at Fleet Base East in Sydney (which has prompted complaints from nearby residents about machinery noise, exhaust fumes, and blocked views) and will regularly operate out of Townsville, the location of Lavarack Barracks, home of the Australian Army's 3rd Brigade. In addition to being located in North Queensland close to Asia and the Pacific Islands, one of the 3rd Brigade's infantry battalions, the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR), was selected to become the Army's specialist amphibious infantry battalion.
Planning and selection Planning to replace the landing platform amphibious ships and , and the heavy landing ship began as early as 2000, with the intention announced in the Defence 2000: Our Future Defence Force white paper.Borgu, Capability of First Resort?, p. 1 The importance of amphibious warfare had been demonstrated during Australia's leadership of the International Force for East Timor peacekeeping operation: the difficulty in supporting an expeditionary force to one of Australia's nearest neighbours demonstrated the need for an improved amphibious sealift capability. In November 2003, the Minister for Defence, Robert Hill, released a Defence Capability Review, which stated that two ships of at least displacement and capable of launching five to six helicopters simultaneously were being sought. The acquisition was included under the procurement designation Project JP2048: although Phase 1 of JP2048 looked at a new type of landing craft for the Kanimbla class (the LCM2000), Phases 2 and 4 were to identify, then acquire the new amphibious warfare ships, and Phase 3 covered the design and construction of compatible landing craft (12 LCM-1E, ordered on 27 September 2011).Borgu, Capability of First Resort?, p. 2Office of Stephen Smith MP, Minister for Defence, Projects of concern – Update The ships were originally to replace one of the Kanimbla-class ships and Tobruk, with the other Kanimbla-class ship later replaced by a strategic sealift ship.
In January 2006, the Australian government announced the names for the planned ships: and .Department of Defence, Next generation of naval ships to reflect a rich history of service After the announcement, suggestions for alternate names were expressed in several venues. The Navy League of Australia proposed that Adelaide should instead be named Australia; using the name of the nation and its capital for the RAN's two most powerful ships, as had been the case with the navy's two World War II-era County-class cruisers, while freeing the name up for the League's proposed fourth Hobart-class destroyer.Time to bring back the Pride, in The Navy, p. 2 Alternately, a member of the Australian Naval Institute opined that the ships should be named Gallipoli and Guadalcanal; the first reflecting the landings at Gallipoli, one of the first amphibious operations of the modern era, the second recognising the amphibious campaign to recapture Guadalcanal and the efforts of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in aiding Australia during World War II.Garai, Lets give the LHDs some names with meaning, pp. 33–4
+ Comparative statistics of proposed designsKanimbla class included for comparisonBorgu, Capability of First Resort?, p. 6DCNNavantiaKanimblaDisplacement (t)24,00027,0008,500Range (nmi)11,0009,00014,000Personnel177240210Troops1,0001,100450Vehicles (m2)1,0002,000700Helicopters16114Landing spots662/3Landing craft4 LCM4 LCM-1E2 LCM-8
A Request For Information and invitation for tenders was sent to two European shipbuilders in February 2004; French company Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) and Spanish company Navantia.Borgu, Capability of First Resort?, pp. 5–6 Shipbuilders from the United States were not included, as American amphibious warfare ships were too large for Australian requirements, and were either too personnel-intensive or could not operate the number of helicopters required.Borgu, Capability of First Resort?, p. 5 DCN responded with an enlarged version of the ; greater displacement than the vessels active with the French Navy.Brown, Spanish designs are Australia's choice for warship programmes A design being built by Navantia for the Spanish Navy, the "Buque de Proyección Estratégica" (Strategic Projection Ship, later commissioned as ) was offered by the Spanish, partnering with Australian company Tenix Defence. Although larger and with an increased troop, vehicle, and helicopter carrying capability compared to the Mistrals, the Spanish ship was still under construction at the time of the offer, and was not due to enter service until late 2008. On 20 June 2007, Minister for Defence Brendan Nelson announced that the A$3 billion contract to build the Canberra class had been awarded to Navantia and Tenix.Amphibious Ships, in Semaphore, p. 1 Although an unproven design, the Spanish offer was closer to the RAN's requested requirements, and there were benefits from ordering the Canberras and the new air warfare destroyers from the same company.
At around the time the decision to purchase the ships was made, many defence analysts advocated for acquiring a larger number of smaller vessels on the grounds that this would be better suited to conditions in Australia's region. However, the Navy's Sea Power Centre argued that large amphibious vessels would provide greater flexibility.
Hugh White, a former leading defence planner for the Hawke and Howard Governments, ANU Professor and defence writer for the SMH, has long been a critic of the decision to acquire the Canberra-class ships. In 2004 he argued that the Australian Defence Force did not need the capacity to conduct a major opposed amphibious operation, as it was unlikely to ever be called upon to do so, and the money needed to purchase the vessels would be better spent on smaller amphibious ships and other defence capabilities. In 2016 White judged the ships to be a 'terrible and heroic, waste of money and nothing more than, 'big, fat... targets in the South China Sea'.S.Morris. Shipping Forecast, Australia, in Monocle 91, March 2016, p 044 which are too vulnerable for deployment in a serious crisis.
Design and capabilities The Canberra-class vessels are long overall, with a maximum beam of , and a maximum draught of .Royal Australian Navy, Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD) Keeping the maximum draught low was an important factor during design, allowing the ships to operate in littoral waters and small harbours. At full load, each ship will displace , making them the largest vessels to serve in the RAN. The Canberras have the same physical dimensions as Juan Carlos I, but differ in the design of the island superstructure and the internal layout, in order to meet Australian conditions and requirements. Unlike the Spanish vessel, the Australian ships are built to meet Lloyd's Naval Rules.
Propulsion is provided by two Siemens Navantia azimuth thrusters, each with an onboard electric motor, driving two diameter propellers.Amphibious Ships, in Semaphore, p. 2 The electricity is provided by a combined diesel and gas system, with a single General Electric LM2500 turbine producing , supported by two Navantia MAN 16V32/40 diesel generators providing . The main thrusters are supplemented by two bow thrusters, and a Progener-Mitsubishi S16MPTA diesel generator is fitted as an emergency backup. The vessels have a maximum speed of over , a maximum sustainable full-load speed of , and an economical cruising speed of , with a corresponding range of . The LHDs can maintain full directional control while reversing at up to .
HMAS Canberra was reported to have completed a major maintenance period in the Captain Cook Graving Dock at Garden Island during which the propulsion pods were replaced including new 4 bladed propellers. At the time of reporting (March 2021) Canberra was preparing for sea trials and plans were being made for HMAS Adelaide to undergo similar maintenance.Defence News Huge maintenance task a first
Each ship is fitted with a Saab 9LV Mark 4 combat management system. The sensor suite includes a Sea Giraffe 3D surveillance radar, and a Vampir NG infrared search and track system. For self-defence, the LHDs are fitted with four Rafael Typhoon remote weapons systems (one in each corner of the flight deck), six machine guns, an AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy, and a Nulka missile decoy.Defense Industry Daily, Australia's Canberra class LHDs Planned upgrades include the installation of up to three Phalanx CIWS from 2018. Defence against aircraft and larger targets is to be provided by escort vessels and air support from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The ships' companies consist of 358 personnel; 293 RAN, 62 Australian Army, and 3 RAAF.Kerr, Amphibious Ambitions