HMAS ''Sydney'' (DDG 42), named after the city of Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, is the third and final ship of the ''Hobart'' class air warfare destroyers used by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

(RAN).

Construction

HMAS ''Sydney'' was laid down on 19 November 2015, and launched on 19 May 2018. The ship, based on the ''Álvaro de Bazán''-class frigate designed by

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...

, was built at ASC's shipyard in

Osborne, South Australia Osborne is a suburb in the Australian state of South Australia located on the LeFevre Peninsula in the west of Adelaide about north-west of the Adelaide city centre. Description Osborne is bounded to the south by the suburb of Taperoo, to ...

from modules fabricated by ASC,

BAE Systems Australia BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is one of the largest defence contractors in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holding ...

in Victoria, and

Forgacs Group Forgacs Marine and Defence (Forgacs), former Forgacs Group, is a major Australian engineering and shipbuilding company. It has facilities at Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane and Gladstone. The company employs 1000 people. The Forgacs Group acquired ...

in New South Wales. The ship was delivered to Australian Department of Defence on 28 February 2020, after sea trials since September 2019.

Service

HMAS ''Sydney'' was commissioned at sea off the coast of

on 18 May 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. This was the first time since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

that an Australian warship was commissioned at sea. In March 2021, the ship's combat systems were tested in advance of any operational deployments. On May 8, 2021 HMAS ''Sydney'' struck and killed two endangered

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ce ...

s which were discovered after the ship docked at the U.S. Navy base in San Diego, California. The Center for Biological Diversity announced its intent to sue the U.S. Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service for what it called "violations" of the Endangered Species Act. The incident is under joint review by U.S. and Australian agencies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney, HMAS Hobart-class destroyers Ships built in South Australia 2018 ships