The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has said that all three of its Hobart-class air warfare destroyers are now ready for operational deployment, having reached final operational capability.
The operational capability evaluation for all three destroyers was successfully concluded with the recent completion of HMAS Sydney's test and evaluation period off the coast of the US and Canada. The third and final Hobart-class ship returned to Australia in July after the test period, which also included missile firings against low-altitude and supersonic targets.
RAN chief Vice Admiral Michael Noonan said Sydney and sisters HMAS Hobart and HMAS Brisbane use a number of systems in common with the US Navy, which allows the RAN destroyers to be fully interchangeable with their American counterparts.
