Canberra - class landing helicopter dock The " Canberra " class is a ship class of two Landing Helicopter Dock ( LHD ) ships being built for the Royal Australian Navy ( RAN ) . Planning to upgrade the navy ' s amphibious fleet began in 2000 , based on Australian experiences leading the International Force for East Timor peacekeeping operation . In 2004 , French company Direction des Constructions Navales ( DCN ) and Spanish company Navantia were invited to tender proposals , with the companies offering the " Mistral " class amphibious assault ship and the " " Buque de Proyección Estratégica " " design ( later commissioned as " Juan Carlos I " ) respectively . The Spanish design was selected in 2007 , with Navantia responsible for construction of the ships from the keel to the flight deck , and BAE Systems Australia handling the fabrication of the superstructure and fitting out . Construction of the first ship , , commenced in late 2008 , and the hull was launched in early 2011 . Work on the second vessel , , started in early 2010 . The ships are expected to enter service between 2014 and 2016 . They will be the largest vessels ever operated by the RAN , with a displacement of . Planning and selection . Planning to replace the " Kanimbla " class landing platform amphibious ships and , and the heavy landing ship began as early as 2000 , with the intention announced in the " " white paper . The importance of amphibious warfare had been demonstrated during Australia ' s leadership of the International Force for East Timor peacekeeping operation : the difficulty in supporting an expeditionary force to one of Australia ' s nearest neighbours demonstrated the need for an improved amphibious sealift capability . In November 2003 , the Minister for Defence , Robert Hill , released a Defence Capability Review , which stated that two ships of at least displacement and capable of launching five to six helicopters simultaneously were being sought . The acquisition was included under the procurement designation Project JP2048 : although Phase 1 of JP2048 looked at a new type of landing craft for the " Kanimbla " class ( the LCM2000 ) , Phases 2 and 4 were to identify , then acquire the new amphibious warfare ships , and Phase 3 covered the design and construction of compatible landing craft ( 12 LCM - 1E , ordered on 27 September 2011 ) . The ships were originally to replace one of the " Kanimbla " class ships and " Tobruk " , with the other " Kanimbla " class ship later replaced by a strategic sealift ship . In January 2006 , the Australian government announced the names for the planned ships : and . After the announcement , suggestions for alternate names were expressed in several venues . The Navy League of Australia proposed that " Adelaide " should instead be named " Australia " ; using the name of the nation and its capital for the RAN ' s two most powerful ships , as had been the case with the navy ' s two World War II - era County class cruiser s , while freeing the name up for the League ' s proposed fourth " Hobart " class destroyer . Alternately , a member of the Australian Naval Institute opined that the ships should be named " Gallipoli " and " Guadalcanal " ; the first reflecting the landings at Gallipoli , one of the first amphibious operations of the modern era , the second recognising the amphibious campaign to recapture Guadalcanal and the efforts of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in aiding Australia during World War II . A Request For Information and invitation for tenders was sent to two European shipbuilders in February 2004 ; French company Direction des Constructions Navales ( DCN ) and Spanish company Navantia . Shipbuilders from the United States were not included , as American amphibious warfare ships were too large for Australian requirements , and were either too personnel - intensive , or could not operate the number of helicopters required . DCN responded with an enlarged version of the " Mistral " class amphibious assault ship ; greater displacement than the vessels active with the French Navy . A design being built by Navantia for the Spanish Navy , the " " Buque de Proyección Estratégica " " ( Strategic Projection Ship , later commissioned as " Juan Carlos I " ) was offered by the Spanish , partnering with Australian company Tenix Defence . Although larger and with an increased troop , vehicle , and helicopter carrying capability compared to the " Mistral " s , the Spanish ship was still under construction at the time of the offer , and was originally not due to enter service until late 2008 . On 20 June 2007 , Minister for Defence Brendan Nelson announced that the A $ 3 billion contract to build the " Canberra " class had been awarded to Navantia and Tenix . Although an unproven design , the Spanish offer was closer to the RAN ' s requested requirements , and there were benefits from ordering the " Canberra " s and the new " Hobart " class air warfare destroyers from the same company . Design and capabilities . The " Canberra " class vessels are long overall , with a maximum beam of , and a maximum draught of . Keeping the maximum draught low was an important factor during design , allowing the ships to operate in littoral waters and small harbours . At full load , each ship will displace , making them the largest vessels to serve in the RAN . The " Canberra " s have the same physical dimensions as " Juan Carlos I " , but differ in the design of the island superstructure and the internal layout , in order to meet Australian conditions and requirements . Unlike the Spanish vessel , the Australian ships are built to meet Lloyd ' s Naval Rules . Propulsion is provided by two Siemens azimuth thruster s , each with an onboard electric motor , driving two diameter propellers . The electricity is provided by a Combined diesel and gas system , with a single General Electric LM2500 turbine producing , supported by two MAN 16V32 / 40 diesel generators providing . The main thrusters are supplemented by two bow thrusters , and a Progener - Mitsubishi S16MPTA diesel generator is fitted as an emergency backup . The vessels will have a maximum speed of over , a maximum sustainable full - load speed of , and an economical cruising speed of , with a corresponding range of . The LHDs can maintain full directional control while reversing at up to . Each ship is fitted with a Saab 9LV Mark 4 combat management system . The sensor suite includes a Sea Giraffe 3D surveillance radar , and a Vampir NG infrared search and track system . For self - defence , the LHDs will be fitted with four Rafael Typhoon 25 mm remote weapons systems ( one in each corner of the flight deck ) , six 12 . 7 mm machine guns , an AN / SLQ - 25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy , and a Nulka missile decoy . Defence against aircraft and larger targets is to be provided by escort vessels and air support from the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) . The ships ' companies will consist of 358 personnel ; 293 RAN , 62 Australian Army , and 3 RAAF . The LHDs will transport 1 , 046 soldiers and their equipment . They are to be capable deploying a reinforced company of up to 220 soldiers at a time by airlift . In mid - 2010 , the intention was to retrain 4th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment for the commando and amphibious warfare roles , but under Plan Bersheeba , released in December 2012 , 2nd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment was the unit marked to become the core of the Australian marine force . Two vehicle decks ( one for light vehicles , the other for heavy vehicles and tanks ) have areas of and respectively , and between them can accommodate up to 110 vehicles . Each ship has a well deck . This can house up to four LCM - 1E landing craft , which can be launched and recovered in conditions up to Sea State 4 . The well deck also has room for four RHIBs ( although these will not be carried as standard ) , and can be used by other nations ' landing craft and amphibious vehicles . The flight deck is and sits at a height of , with six spots for helicopters up to MRH - 90 size to operate simultaneously . Alternately , helicopters up to Chinook size can take off or land simultaneously on four spots on the flight deck . Flight operations can be conducted up to Sea State 5 . The standard air group aboard these ships will be a mix of MRH - 90 transport helicopters and S - 70B Seahawk anti - submarine helicopters . The hangar deck can accommodate eight medium - size helicopters ; with room for another ten if the light vehicle deck is used for additional helicopter space . Two aircraft lifts ( one large one centre - aft , and a smaller one to starboard and in front of the island superstructure ) connect the flight deck to the hangar deck . The ski - jump ramp of " Juan Carlos I " has been retained for the RAN ships . Because of this , there have been multiple recommendations that the " Canberra " s be used for carrier - like flight operations ( primarily with a flight group of F - 35B Lightning II STOVL aircraft ) . Although cross - decking with other nations ' aircraft may occur , the RAN maintains that embarking Australian - operated , fixed - wing aircraft is not under consideration . Construction . Navantia is contracted to construct the hulls from 104 ' blocks ' or ' modules ' , which are fabricated individually at Navantia ' s facilities in Ferrol and Fene , then combined on the slipway at the Ferrol shipyard . The " Canberra " s will be built up to the flight deck , launched , then transported by heavy lift ship to Williamstown , Victoria , where the installation of the island superstructure and the internal fitout of the hull is to be completed by BAE Systems Australia ( which acquired Tenix in mid - 2008 ) . Construction of " Canberra " began in September 2008 , when the first steel was cut . The first three blocks were laid down on 23 September 2010 . She was launched on 17 February 2011 . The hull was loaded onto the heavy lift ship on 4 August 2012 , with " Blue Marlin " departing Ferrol for Williamstown on 17 August , and arriving in Port Phillip on 17 October . " Canberra " is expected to commission into the RAN in January 2014 . Work on " Adelaide " began during February 2010 , when the first steel was cut . The first hull blocks were laid down on 18 February 2011 , and " Adelaide " was launched on 4 July 2012 . Initially , the ship was due to reach Australia in early 2013 to begin final fitout , but this did not occur . The hull was loaded onto " Blue Marlin " on 10 December 2013 in Vigo Bay . Entry into RAN service was originally planned for mid - 2015 , but as of July 2011 , this had been pushed back to sometime in 2016 . Although " Canberra " was identified as " LHD01 " and " Adelaide " as " LHD02 " during construction , the ships will be commissioned with the pennant number s " LHD 02 " and " LHD 01 " respectively . The reversal of the numbers will cause the new ships ' pennants to correspond to the " Adelaide " class frigates with the same names . The first batch of four LCM - 1E craft will be delivered to the RAN in March 2014 . The early decommissioning of the two " Kanimbla " class vessels in 2011 , several years before " Canberra " class ships would enter service , led to the acquisition of the landing ship dock and the support vessel . Once the two LHDs enter full operational service , " Ocean Shield " will be transferred to the Customs Marine Unit of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service .