page_title: Adelaide-class frigate
section_title: Armament
hierarchical_section_title: Adelaide-class frigate / Armament
context_page_description: The Adelaide class was a ship class of six guided missile frigates constructed in Australia and the United States of America for service in the Royal Australian Navy. The class was based on the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, but modified for Australian requirements. The first four vessels were built in the United States, while the other two were constructed in Australia.
  The first ship entered service in November 1980. Canberra and Adelaide were paid off in 2005 and 2008 respectively, and later sunk as dive wrecks: their decommissioning was to offset the cost of a A$1 billion weapons and equipment upgrade to the remaining four ships. Sydney was decommissioned in late 2015, after spending most of the year as a moored training ship. Darwin was decommissioned in late 2017, Newcastle in June 2019 and Melbourne the last in October 2019. The Hobart-class air-warfare destroyers progressively replaced the last four frigates from 2016 onwards.
context_section_description: From the withdrawal of the Perth-class destroyers in 2001 until the introduction of the Hobart-class in 2017, these ships were the RAN's primary air defence vessels, armed with a Mark 13 missile launcher for SM-2 missiles. They also have significant anti-surface capability, being armed with a 76-millimetre (3.0 in) Mk 75 gun and the Harpoon ASM (also fired by the Mark 13 launcher), and a pair of triple torpedo tubes for ASW. In addition, two S-70B Seahawk helicopters are carried.
  From 2005 onwards, all RAN frigates deploying to the Persian Gulf are fitted with two M2HB .50 calibre machine guns in Mini Typhoon mounts, installed on the aft corners of the hangar roof. Two TopLite EO directors are used with the guns.
  The Australian frigates were originally fitted with American Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedoes, but by 2008, they had been replaced with the European MU90 Impact torpedo in three of the four frigates as part of the FFG Upgrade, with the conversion of Newcastle underway at that point.
caption: HMAS Canberra firing a Harpoon anti-ship missile
exif: {}