Hunter-class frigate

The Hunter-class frigate is an under construction class of six heavy frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. The genesis of the Future Frigate Program came in 2009, when the Rudd government's Defence White Paper signalled Australia's intent to "acquire a fleet of eight new Future Frigates, which will be larger than the Anzac-class vessels" with a focus on anti-submarine warfare. With an initial tender expected in 2019–20, in 2014 the Abbott government announced that work had been brought forward, funding a preliminary design study focused on integrating a CEAFAR radar and Saab combat system on the hull of the Hobart-class destroyer. Following a report by the RAND Corporation into options for Australia's naval shipbuilding industry, the government announced an $89 billion naval shipbuilding plan. This plan brought the schedule of the Future Frigate Program forward by three years and announced a "continuous onshore build program to commence in 2020" in South Australia. A competitive evaluation process was announced in April 2016, and a request for tender was released in March 2017 to three contenders: Navantia, Fincantieri, and BAE Systems as part of a competitive evaluation process. The program is expected to cost AU$35 billion. In June 2018, the BAE Systems Type 26 frigate was selected as the winner. In June 2024, construction began at the Osborne Naval Shipyard and the first delivery is expected in 2032.