BAE Systems – Hunter frigate construction – video

BAE Systems Australia has given us a sneak peek at the progress it has made during the prototyping phase of the construction of nine Hunter class frigates in Adelaide (video below).

In the time-lapse video shipbuilders at Osborne naval shipyard are putting their skills to the test consolidating elements to create a structure destined to be part of a single ship block.

These giant structures (or units) are about 11 metres long, 21 metres across and 3 metres high and weigh upwards of 35 tonnes.

Each completed Hunter Class frigate will comprise 22 ‘blocks’, each made up of between one and seven of these massive steel units.

Here, one huge steel unit is lifted onto another to form part of a ‘test’ block that would normally be located in the middle of a frigate.

Boilermakers and welders will now work on the units to consolidate them, and then they will be used for training ahead of starting to build the future HMAS Hunter – the first in this class of frigates.

They prototyping stage involves the testing of equipment and processes ahead of the official start of ship construction.

Media: Bae Systems Australia

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