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Defence prime BAE Systems have confirmed that mast prototyping for the Royal Australian Navy’s new Hunter class frigates has concluded after three years of work.
The Hunter Mast Proof-of-Concept Project build was primarily carried out at the Henderson shipyard in Western Australia, supported by teams at Adelaide’s Osborne Naval Shipyard and in Melbourne.
The project consisted of two phases including fabricating part of an aluminium mast and machining radar seats, which are designed to house radar equipment.
“It was great seeing both shipyards working so closely together. Over a period of a few months, we had Osborne Production and Engineering teams flying in and out supporting the mast fabrication prototyping,” according to Henderson shipyard manufacturing engineering manager Alex.
It was a valuable learning experience for everyone, helping each person understand the other team’s environment. The added benefit was that it strengthened the dynamic across the combined team.”
Hunter class frigate prototyping (hull and superstructure) started at the Osborne shipyard in 2020 and the Mast PoC Project helped to solidify the rapport between the two shipyards.
Prem, the Design for Production Lead – Hunter Class Frigate Program Mast, said the end of fabrication concluded phase one of the project.
“For the Mast PoC Project, we created a segment that was roughly 20% the size of a full production mast for a Hunter frigate,” Prem said.
“Though both sites undertook prototyping, and are currently building NUSHIP Hunter, aluminium (mast) and carbon steel (hull and superstructure) are two very different materials with unique characteristics.
“Aluminium is one-third the weight of steel and its melting point is a lot cooler. This means that not only is welding it different but so are procedures like lifting, cleaning and preparing.”
Henderson shipyard Manufacturing Delivery Manager, Anthony, said that total fabrication work took almost two and a half years and was highly detailed — completing everything from the jigs (support structures) to decks, bulkheads, frames, panelling and machining.
“A personal highlight for me was seeing the successful completion of the array faces’ in-situ machining activity and the collaboration between the Henderson and Osbourne teams across all disciplines.”
During the project’s second phase, the CEAFAR radar seat machining was extremely fine work where their finish needed to be within a high-accuracy tolerance range.
Hunter class frigate prototyping (hull and superstructure) started at the Osborne shipyard in 2020 and the Mast PoC Project helped to solidify the rapport between the two shipyards.
Prem, the Design for Production Lead – Hunter Class Frigate Program Mast, said the end of fabrication concluded phase one of the project.
“For the Mast PoC Project, we created a segment that was roughly 20% the size of a full production mast for a Hunter frigate,” Prem said.
“Though both sites undertook prototyping, and are currently building NUSHIP Hunter, aluminium (mast) and carbon steel (hull and superstructure) are two very different materials with unique characteristics.
“Aluminium is one-third the weight of steel and its melting point is a lot cooler. This means that not only is welding it different but so are procedures like lifting, cleaning and preparing.”
Henderson shipyard Manufacturing Delivery Manager, Anthony, said that total fabrication work took almost two and a half years and was highly detailed — completing everything from the jigs (support structures) to decks, bulkheads, frames, panelling and machining.
“A personal highlight for me was seeing the successful completion of the array faces’ in-situ machining activity and the collaboration between the Henderson and Osbourne teams across all disciplines.”
During the project’s second phase, the CEAFAR radar seat machining was extremely fine work where their finish needed to be within a high-accuracy tolerance range.
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