THE HMAS Canberra LO2 was a towering sight as it berthed in Suva last week.
Even from as far as two kilometres away, the mighty Australia navy ship could be seen dwarfing structures on the Suva Wharf.
The Australian and Fiji military had a joint exercise last week and the Australian military personnel had travelled on HMAS Canberra.
HMAS Canberra is the first of two Canberra-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) ships constructed for the Royal Australian Navy.
According to the information provided on the Australian Navy website, the construction of the ship started in Spain in 2008.
The Canberra class design is based on the warship Juan Carlos I, built by the company Navantia for the Spanish Navy.
Canberra has the same physical dimensions as Juan Carlos I, but differs 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.
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 infra-red search and track system.
For self-defence, the LHDs will be fitted with four Rafael Typhoon 25 mm remote weapons systems (one in each corner of the flight deck), six 12.7 mm machine guns, an AN/SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy, and a Nulka missile decoy.
Defence against aircraft and larger target is to be provided by escort vessels and air support from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The ships’ companies will consist of 358 personnel; 293 RAN, 62 Australian Army, and 3 RAAF.
The LHDs will transport 1046 soldiers and their equipment.
Canberra is capable of deploying a reinforced company of up to 220 soldiers at a time by airlift. Two vehicle decks (one for light vehicles, the other for heavy vehicles and tanks) have areas of 1880 square metres and 1410 square metres respectively, and between them can accommodate up to 110 vehicles.
The well deck will carry up to four LHD Landing Craft (LLC), which can be launched and recovered in conditions up to Sea State 4. The flight deck can operate six MRH-90-size helicopters or four Chinook-size helicopters simultaneously, in conditions up to Sea State 5.
A mix of MRH-90 transport helicopters and S-70B Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters will be carried: up to eight can be stored in the hangar deck, and the light vehicle deck can be repurposed to fit another ten. The ski-jump ramp of Juan Carlos I has been retained for the RAN ships, although fixed-wing flight operations are not planned for the ships.
