Royal Australian Navy to commission NUSHIP Adelaide

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Royal Australian Navy is preparing to commission NUSHIP Adelaide, the force's second Landing Helicopter Dock, into service on Friday.

The Landing Helicopter Docks, also known as Canberra-class Amphibious Assault Ships, are the largest ships ever built for the Royal Australian Navy. The ships, built by BAE Systems, are designed for mass transit of embarked forces, capable of landing 1,000 personnel through their landing dock, helicopters, or a combination of both.

"Over the last year it has been pretty busy getting ready," Able Seaman Gordon said of the commissioning process. "It's really exciting that this commissioning is finally happening."

NUSHIP Adelaide will be fitted for a variety of missions, including humanitarian aide, disaster relief, and combat operations. Weighing 27,000 tons, the ships are designed to carry the MFH90, CH-47 Chinook, Blackhawk, S-70B-2 Seahawk, Armed Reconnaissance, and Romeo Seahawk helicopters.

More Canberra-class Amphibious Assault ships are currently in production, and will be armed with an Anti-Torpedo Towed Defense System, four 20mm automated guns, an an active missile decoy system.