The hull of the first of the Royal Australian Navy's two new amphibious ships has been launched in Spain.
"These ships are officially known as Landing Helicopter Docks or LHDs and are the largest the Australian Navy has ever owned," Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Crane said at the launch at the Navantia dockyards at Ferrol in northern Spain.
Both ships will be based at Garden Island in Sydney. Crewed by all three armed services, the LHD is a significant strengthening of the ADF's amphibious capability and tri-service culture.
First of class, HMAS 'Canberra' (LHD01) will arrive in Victoria next year where it will be fitted out before being accepted into service in 2014 with sister ship HMAS 'Adelaide' (LHD02) to follow the year after.
