Australia Officially Joined the 'AEGIS Club'

19 Juni 2017

Hobart Air Warfare Destroyer (photo : Aus DoD)

Lockheed Martin Team Congratulates Australia in joining the global Aegis Fleet

ADELAIDE, Australia – Lockheed Martin Australia congratulates the Commonwealth of Australia for receiving its first Aegis-equipped ship, HOBART at a ceremony marking the occasion today in Adelaide.

The handover of HOBART to the Department of Defence marks a significant milestone for Australia – officially joining the Lockheed Martin global Aegis fleet alongside Japan, Spain, Norway, the Republic of Korea and the United States.

HOBART marks the 107th ship to join the fleet and the sixth Allied nation to benefit from Aegis capabilities.

“Lockheed Martin Australia is continuing to invest in growing Australia’s maritime workforce. We are proud of the superior warfighting capability of Aegis and stand ready to support the Commonwealth with future programs – such as Australia’s Future Frigates, said Vince Di Pietro, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Australia.

“I am personally proud to see this next milestone achieved in capability, having had the privilege of ceremonially bringing the system to life in Moorestown while the Naval Attaché based in Washington DC,” continued Mr Di Pietro.

The Aegis Weapon System is a centralised, automated, command-and-control weapons control system that was designed as a total combat management system from detection to engagement. The Aegis Weapons System enables multi-mission capability, network centric warfare, cooperative engagement capability and growth to SM-6 and future capabilities.

The Hobart Class destroyers are being built under Australia’s SEA 4000 program, which will ultimately deliver three advanced multi-mission ships by the end of 2019. These destroyers will be Australia’s first ships to be equipped with Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Weapon System, which integrates commercial-off-the-shelf hardware technology and open architecture software into the combat system.

The next Aegis-enabled Ship scheduled for Australia, BRISBANE, continues to make good progress. A team of Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians have completed installation of the Aegis computer program aboard BRISBANE, Australia’s second Aegis-equipped Air Warfare Destroyer.

In support of the Commonwealth, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy are committed to the successful delivery of Australia’s Hobart Class Aegis Destroyers.

(Lockheed Martin)