The Hunter Class Frigate Program has reached a defining milestone with the laying of the keel of the first Hunter class frigate, NUSHIP Hunter. The ceremonial event – a naval tradition dating back centuries and intended to invoke good luck and protection for the ship and its future crew – saw BAE Systems Australia’s shipbuilders joined by Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Pat Conroy MP, and Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Matthew Buckley, to lay a coin under two ship blocks which form part of the keel of the frigate. The two blocks are among the first major sections to form part of NUSHIP Hunter. They will soon be joined by other blocks to form the base of the ship, as construction of one of the world’s most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates continues at pace.
David Shepherd, Managing Director of BAE Systems Australia – Surface Ships, said:“Today’s ceremony is the culmination of years of hard work by our people and partners in the pursuit of delivering a world-leading, warship to the Royal Australian Navy. 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. 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. This milestone is a proud moment for our workforce, our partners and the thousands of Australians contributing to a sovereign naval shipbuilding enterprise that will support Australia’s security and prosperity for generations.”
The Hunter-class frigate is an under construction class of six heavy frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. The genesis of the Future Frigate Program came in 2009, when the Rudd government’s Defence White Paper signalled Australia’s intent to “acquire a fleet of eight new Future Frigates, which will be larger than the Anzac-class vessels” with a focus on anti-submarine warfare. With an initial tender expected in 2019–20, in 2014 the Abbott government announced that work had been brought forward, funding a preliminary design study focused on integrating a CEAFAR radar and Saab combat system on the hull of the Hobart-class destroyer. In June 2018, the BAE Systems Type 26 frigate was selected as the winner. In June 2024, construction began at the Osborne Naval Shipyard and the first delivery is expected in 2032.
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