A keel laying ceremony marked a major milestone in the construction of the first of six Hunter class frigates at Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide’s north.

Honouring a centuries-old naval tradition, a coin was placed beneath the keel of the ship to bestow good fortune on the vessel during its construction and throughout its life at sea.

The occasion also formally recognised progress on the first vessel, NUSHIP Hunter, with 20 of the ship’s 22 blocks already under construction by BAE Systems Maritime Australia.

The event marks an important step in the delivery of the Hunter class frigates, which will provide the Royal Australian Navy with a world-class anti-submarine warfare capability while underpinning thousands of jobs and strengthening sovereign shipbuilding capability in South Australia.

David Shepherd, Managing Director of BAE Systems Australia – Surface Ships, said the keel laying ceremony was a significant milestone for the program.

“While today we have physically laid the keel of the first Hunter class frigate, the Hunter program itself has laid the foundations of a Continuous Naval Shipbuilding & Sustainment capability in Australia,” he said.

NUSHIP Hunter is the first of the Hunter class frigates due to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in the early 2030s, with sister ships Flinders and Tasman to follow.

“The Hunter class will form the backbone of the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet for decades to come, with its unique capabilities, weapons, sensors and modular mission bay enabling it to undertake a wide range of missions in addition to hunting submarines,” Mr Shepherd said.

Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas described by occasion as a ‘momentous day’ for South Australian shipbuilding. Alongside the Hunter class frigates program, Osborne will also be the home of Australia’s first built, conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS partnership, which are expected to enter service from the early 2040s.

“More than 2,500 highly skilled men and women are now working at Osborne building the Hunter frigates, a massive undertaking that represents the start of continuous naval shipbuilding here in Adelaide,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“BAE have almost 600 tradespeople now working on this project – some of them young people trained up at our remarkable Technical Colleges, and now locked into well paid, interesting lifelong careers. And there’s still AUKUS to come.”

The Hunter class program is a cornerstone of South Australia’s growing defence industry, supporting a highly skilled workforce at Osborne while creating opportunities for thousands of businesses and supporting an additional 5,000 jobs across the national supply chain.

In doing so, it is strengthening the state’s advanced manufacturing, engineering and technology capabilities and helping build the sovereign industrial capacity needed to deliver future Defence programs.

Once completed, the Hunter frigate will be 151.1 metres in length and will be able to travel at a top speed of more than 27 knots.

It will be among the world’s most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates, designed for maximum versatility and flexibility in operational roles from high-intensity warfare to humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

It will also integrate Australian-made radar technology and Australian-developed combat system interfaces alongside the United States’ Aegis combat management system.

BAE Systems Maritime Australia won the contract in 2018 to build the Hunter class frigates and create a continuous naval shipbuilding program in Adelaide.

Through its Strategic Supplier Partnerships Program, BAE Systems is partnering with selected small and medium-sized businesses to deliver services including blast and painting, insulation, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), deck coverings, non-destructive testing and habitation.

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Image: Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Matthew Buckley AM, CSC, RAN and Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, laying the keel for the first Hunter class frigate at Osborne Naval Shipyard. Image courtesy BAE Systems