HMAS Darwin (FFG 04)

HMAS Darwin
History
Australia
Namesake	City of Darwin
Builder	Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington
Laid down	3 July 1981
Launched	26 March 1982
Commissioned	21 July 1984 Seattle, Washington
Decommissioned	9 December 2017 Sydney, Australia
Identification	MMSI number: 503106000 Callsign: VKDA
Motto	"Resurgent"
Nickname(s)	FFG-44 (US hull designation during construction)
Honours and awards	Battle honours: East Timor 1999 Persian Gulf 2002–03 Iraq 2003
Status	Awaiting disposal
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Adelaide-class guided missile frigate
Displacement	4,100 tons
Length	138.1 m (453 ft) overall
Beam	13.7 m (45 ft)
Draught	7.5 m (25 ft)
Propulsion	2 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, 41,000 horsepower (31,000 kW), 1 shaft 2 × 650-horsepower (480 kW) auxiliary propulsors
Speed	29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph)
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	184 (including 15 officers, not including aircrew)
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-49 air search radar AN/SPS-55 surface search and navigation radar SPG-60 fire control radar (Mark 92 fire control system) AN/SQS-56 hull-mounted sonar
Armament	1 × Mark 13 Missile Launcher for Harpoon and Standard missiles 1 × 8-cell Mark 41 VLS with Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles 2 × Mark 32 torpedo tubes 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm naval gun 1 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Up to 6 x 12.7-millimetre (0.50 in) machine guns 2 × M2HB .50 calibre Mini Typhoons (fitted as required)
Aircraft carried	2 × S-70B Seahawk or 1 × Seahawk and 1 × AS350B Squirrel

HMAS Darwin (FFG 04), named for the capital city of the Northern Territory, was an Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate, formerly in service with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of four ships ordered from the United States, Darwin entered service in 1984. During her career, she has operated in the Persian Gulf, as part of the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, and off the Solomon Islands. The frigate underwent a major upgrade during 2007 and 2008. She was decommissioned on 9 December 2017 and was supposed to be scuttled as a dive wreck in Tasmania, but the deal was pulled by the Tasmanian Government and her fate remains uncertain.^[1]