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Class overview
Builders:	Navantia Ferrol, Spain and Tenix Defence, Victoria (Australia)
Preceded by:	HMAS Tobruk, Kanimbla class
Followed by:	N/A
Commissioned:	2013
Ships in class:	2
Ships active:	0
Ships building:	0
Ships planned:	2
General characteristics
Displacement:	27,851 tonnes (30,700 tons) maximum
Capacity:	978 embarked troops, 2000 square meters (21,528 sq.ft) of vehicle/additional aircraft space
Length:	230.8 m (760 ft)
Beam:	32.0 m (105 ft)
Draft:	7.18 m (23.5 ft)
Speed:	stated as 20.5 kts (maximum)
Range:	6,100 nm at 15 kts
Complement:	243 core + 36 additional
Armament:	4 25mm Rafael Stabilized Deck Guns (Naval Bushmaster M242)
Sensors:	Saab 9LV combat system
Boats and other craft:	4 LCM
Aircraft carried:	Up to 16 helicopters or STOVL Aircraft.
Aviation facilities:	flight deck with 13 degree ski-jump, 6 in-line deck landing spots and permanent deck parking space for 6 extra aircraft.

The Australian government has approved a AU$3 billion project to build two Canberra class large amphibious ships for the Royal Australian Navy. These ships will have air support, amphibious assault, transport and command centre roles, and are planned to replace in turn HMAS Tobruk and one of the RAN's two current Kanimbla class vessels.

Contents 1 Program overview 2 Indicative specifications 2.1 Comparative statistics 2.2 Aviation capability 2.3 Armament 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

The Australian government's requirements include the capacity to transport up to 1,000 troops and 150 vehicles, including the new M1A1 Abrams tank in service with the Australian Army, have six helicopter spots on a full length flight deck for a mix of both transport and battlefield support helicopters, and a fully equipped hospital. On January 20, 2006, it was announced that the two ships would be named Canberra and Adelaide.^[1]

In August 2005, the government chose two designs to participate in a run off.^[2] The first was a modified version of the French Mistral class which was proposed by the French company Aramis. The second design was based on Spanish Buque de Proyección Estratégica design and was proposed by the Spanish company Navantia.^[3] The Navantia design was larger, at approximately 27,000 tonnes gross displacement, but the first unit for the Spanish Navy had only just started construction, making it an unknown quantity in terms of capability. By contrast, the French design was smaller, at approximately 24,000 tonnes, but had entered service with the French Navy.

In June 2007, the Australian Minister for Defence announced that Tenix Defence was the preferred tenderer for the construction of the two large amphibious landing ships at a cost of $3 billion.[1] The ships are due to enter service from 2013. Tenix had proposed to build the Navantia design in partnership with the Spanish company.

The Australian Government stated that around 25 percent of the value of the project would involve work in Australia. This would be largely limited to construction of the superstructures of the two ships in Tenix's shipyard in Williamstown, Victoria, with some systems work done in South Australia. Consolidation of the two ships and systems integration would occur in Williamstown. To allow work to be done at Williamstown, financial support has been provided by the State Government of Victoria "to prepare the Williamstown shipyard to participate in future projects such as AWD module construction and the large amphibious ships project. The Government is also supporting a skills training program for these projects." [2]

The Canberra class ships will be the largest warships ever operated by the Royal Australian Navy and will displace up to 7,000 tonnes more than the RAN's last aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne.^[4] Each of the ships will be able to carry an infantry battalion. The Canberra class's armament has not yet been selected.

	Mistral class variant	BPE variant	Kanimbla class	HMAS Tobruk	HMAS Melbourne (II) (aircraft carrier)
Displacement (tonnes)	24,000	27,000	8,500	5,800	20,000
Range (NM)	11,000	9,000	14,000	8,000	12,000
Crew	177	240	210	145	1070-1355
Troops	1000	1000	450	300	n/a
Vehicles (sq metres)	1000	2000	700	330	n/a
Helicopters	16 (6 spots)	16 (6 spots)	4 (3 spots)	0 (3 spots)	Up to 26 aircraft
Landing craft	4 LCM	4 LCM	2 LCM-8	2 LCM-8	n/a

Source: Borgu (2004) A Capability of First Resort? page 6.

The Canberra class ships will provide the Australian Defence Force with greatly increased naval aviation capabilities, with each ship carrying up to 16 Army and Navy helicopters. These aircraft will include Army and Navy MRH-90 transport helicopters, Army Tiger helicopter gunships and Navy S-70B Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters. The Canberra class will primarily operate as amphibious assault ships.

While the tender released for the Canberra class did not specify that the ships needed to be capable of operating STOVL fixed wing aircraft,^[5] it has been proposed that such a capacity be included in the final design. In 2004 a review by the Australian Parliament's Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade recommended that the Australian government should consider purchasing a small number of F-35B Lightning II‎ for the Fleet Air Arm to operate from the Canberra class ships.^[6] This recommendation appears to have been rejected by the Royal Australian Navy and there has been "no consideration" given to using the ships to operate fixed-wing aircraft.^[7]

The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's recommendation was made on the grounds that STOVL aircraft would provide deployed Australian forces with air defence and close air support. Despite the slight reduction in range and payload of STOVL F-35B compared to CTOL F-35A (and C) aircraft, they are inherently flexible in terms of operation, and can provide organic close air support right at the edge of the Field of Battle Area, which land based aircraft cannot do. An order of F-35Bs for the Canberra-class could form part of the planned order of up to 100 F-35s for the Royal Australian Air Force. The Navantia design has a ski-jump included in its initial design, and is designed to operate and sustain a mixed jet and helicopter carrier air group of up to 36 aircraft for the Spanish Navy.

The Canberra class ships will be each armed with four RAFAEL Typhoon 25mm remote weapons systems placed at the ships' corners. These weapons will be used to defend against asymmetric threats such as small boats. It is unusual for large warships such as the Canberra class to not be armed with anti-aircraft missiles and close-in weapon systems for protection against missiles. The RAN believes that the new Hobart class destroyers and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft will be sufficient to protect the Canberras from attack, however.^[8]

• Procurement programme of the Royal Australian Navy
• Amphibious assault ship
• Victorian Defence Industry

• Report by Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
• Defence Materiel Organisation JP 2048 Phase 4 - Amphibious Deployment and Sustainment Capability
• Defense Industry Daily Australia Issues Official Tender for A$ 2.0B Large Amphibious Ships Program
• Official ADI large amphibious ship proposal website
• Aldo Borgu (2004) A Capability of First Resort? Australia's Future Amphibious Requirement Australian Strategic Policy Institute
• Tenix/Navantia LHD Proposal (successful bid)