HMAS Hobart cross-links data with US ship in Cooperative Engagement Capability test

In a first for our Australian and US navies, HMAS Hobart has successfully tested a significant new communications capability, proving her ability to share sensor information and real-time combat-system data with a US counterpart.

FILE PHOTO (March 2018): HMAS Hobart underway at sea. Photo by Able Seaman Steven Thomson.

During training and testing near Hawaii, HMAS Hobart established secure data links with the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn and shared tracking and fire-control data across the two ships.

Australia’s Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne said the trials were a significant milestone in the testing and qualifying of Hobart’s combat and weapons systems.

“These trials are the culmination of 12 months of preparations and demonstrate Hobart’s formidable capability,” Minister Pyne said.

“Australia is the first country outside the United States with Cooperative Engagement Capability, and so this demonstration marked the first time this capability was proven between two navies.”

Commanding Officer HMAS Hobart Captain John Stavridis said the visit to the US had proven how closely the Australian and US navies could work together.

“Connecting and sharing data with the US Navy like this is an important step in increasing our interoperability with them, especially during linked task-group operations at sea,” Captain Stavridis said.

“Sharing information like this between ships at sea means that ships in a task group can know and respond to what is going on, including sharing tracking and targeting data.

“It means that a ship can detect and, if needed, engage a threat identified by another ship or aircraft, creating greater flexibility and better protection for all the ships involved.”

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