Australia's first Air Warfare Destroyer in builder's trials

ADELAIDE, Australia, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The first Air Warfare Destroyer for the Royal Australian Navy is performing sea trials to demonstrate its propulsion and control and navigation systems.

The builder's trials of the Hobart, which will also demonstrate the capabilities of its maneuvering and auxiliary systems, will be followed next year by Category 5 trials to test and demonstrate the ship's more advanced systems and combat system.

The Hobart is the first AWD built by the AWD Alliance, which is comprised of the Australian government, shipbuilder ASC and Raytheon Australia. A total of three vessels are being built.

The second vessel of the class, Brisbane, is scheduled to be launched in December.

The Hobart-class ships are 483 feet long, 61 feet in the beam and have a speed of more than 28 knots. They are to feature the Aegis combat system. Armaments include air defense missiles, guns and torpedoes.