By Last Updated on 05/19/2020 by OTC
The Royal Australian Navy has commissioned its newest Air Warfare Destroyer HMAS Sydney (pennant number:42) on 18th May, the Royal Australian Navy announced.
The ceremony, conducted off the coast of New South Wales on Monday, 18 May 2020, marked the moment the 147-metre long Air Warfare Destroyer HMAS Sydney (V) became one of Her Majesty’s Australian Ships.
Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, and Commander of the Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, were aboard the guided missile destroyer, to officially welcome Sydney into service.
The keel of Sydney (V) was symbolically laid down on 19 November 2015, on the anniversary of HMAS Sydney (II)’s sinking in November 1941. She was launched on 19 May 2018.
She is equipped with advanced combat systems, providing the ship with layered offensive and defensive capabilities to counter conventional and asymmetric threats. Sydney will now undergo her test and evaluation period where she will integrate into the fleet and Navy personnel will develop their proficiencies with her cutting-edge Aegis combat system.
Sydney’s sister ships, Hobart and Brisbane, commissioned in 2017 and 2018 respectively and all three vessels are homeported at Fleet Base East in Sydney.
The first Royal Australian Navy vessel to be commissioned at sea was HMAS Matafele. The World War II stores carrier was commissioned on 1 January 1943.
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