Launch of First Future Destroyer, Hobart
Thank you for being here on this very important day. Today, is a significant milestone for the Air Warfare Destroyer Project, marking a big step forward towards the delivery of three highly capable warships to the Royal Australian Navy. The launch of Hobart clears the way for progress on all three destroyers. The AWD Alliance can now focus on ship completion and system commissioning for Hobart, which will be followed by sea trials next year. And with Hobart in the water, the second destroyer, Brisbane, can soon take its place on the hardstand to undergo final block consolidation, and the keel for the third destroyer, Sydney, will be laid.
MHSCo Breaks Ground on Navy Maintenance Facilities
The Maritime Helicopter Support Company (MHSCo), a Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin joint venture company, today broke ground to build the maintenance and warehouse facilities that will provide Through Life Support logistics services for the Royal Australian Navy's new fleet of 24 MH-60R SEAHAWK helicopters. Once completed in early 2015, the two buildings, totaling more than 11,400 square meters (120,000 square feet), will house as many as 120 personnel with the knowledge and ability to keep the fleet in peak flight readiness during its estimated 30-year lifespan. "Excavation and construction of these Through Life Support buildings begin an important chapter for the long-term readiness of Australia's most sophisticated maritime helicopter," said Rod Skotty, President of MHSCo.
Good As Gold
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Gold Team was chosen by the U.S. Navy to complete the system design for the Navy's advanced, 21st century surface combatant, DD(X). The project replaces the $25 billion DD-21 program of land-attack destroyers that was scrapped last fall. Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems sector will lead the system design, engineering prototype development and testing of the DD(X) System under a $265 million contract awarded today by the Navy. The team includes Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) as mission systems integrator and more than 30 of the nation's top engineering and maritime industrial companies. The initial design contract has a total value of approximately $2.9 billion over four years. "We are very pleased and proud that our DD(X) Gold Team was selected by the Navy.
