Australian Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet, announced on December 6 that Australia's US$7.32 billion Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) was progressing well with key milestones in the delivery of its combat and weapons control system being met.
"The US Navy has conducted a 'pull the plug' ceremony on the combat system for HMAS 'Hobart'," Mr Combet said.
"To reach this point, the system, including the radar and missile fire control equipment, had to complete a full range of US Navy acceptance tests to verify its performance. The completion of testing of the Aegis Combat System equipment destined for HMAS 'Hobart' marks a major milestone in its delivery."
The Aegis Combat System is deployed on nearly 100 warships around the world. In addition to the US and Australian Navies, Aegis is deployed on Japanese, Spanish, Norwegian and South Korean warships. This system is capable of detecting and defeating multiple hostile aircraft and missiles at ranges in excess of 150km.
HMAS 'Hobart' is the first of Australia's three Air Warfare Destroyers and is due for delivery to the Royal Australian Navy in December 2014.