Sputnik International:
The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) HMAS Hobart, the country’s first destroyer to sport the US-made Aegis combat system, has completed its weapons and systems evaluations, the service announced earlier this week.
HMAS Hobart is the lead ship of her class, with two other ships planned for a total cost of $6.5 billion. It was commissioned in September 2017, with the next ship, HMAS Brisbane, being commissioned this past October, and the final ship of the class, HMAS Sydney, scheduled for delivery in March 2020.
The Aegis combat system is at the heart of the US Navy’s ship-based anti-air systems as well as its offensive missile capabilities. Lockheed Martin Mission Systems received a $41 million contract in July 2017 to provide computer program maintenance for the new ships, Sputnik reported at the time.
