On 23 May the first of a new class of air-warfare destroyers, the Hobart, was launched in South Australia. Intended to provide advanced fleet air defense for the Royal Australian Navy, this new class of Aegis-equipped warships is based on the Spanish Álvaro de Bazán–class (Project F-100) guided-missile frigates but features a number of enhancements. Initially the Hobart was expected to enter service by early 2015, but current plans now call for the ship to join the fleet in mid-2017, followed by younger sister HMAS Brisbane in late 2018 and the final unit, HMAS Sydney, in early 2020. The price tag for these three ships has risen dramatically in recent years, with cost estimates now running in excess of 9 billion Australian dollars (roughly $7 billion U.S.) for the total program. Once in service, the 7,000-ton (full load) Hobart and her sisters promise to provide much in the way of air defense for friendly ships, land forces, and coastal infrastructure against enemy missile and aircraft attacks.
In May the fourth Baynunah-class guided-missile corvette was delivered to the United Arab Emirates. The Mezyad was built by Abu Dhabi Ship Building in the UAE and joins three sisters currently in service, including the Baynunah (pictured here), the Al Hesen, and the Al Dhafra. Laid down on 5 December 2007 and launched on 15 February 2012, the Mezyad carries one helicopter and can be armed with Exocet antiship missiles as well as Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles and Rolling Airframe missiles for air defense, and is fitted with a 3-inch gun. Displacing 930 tons fully loaded and measuring 234 feet long with a beam of 36.1 feet and a draft of 9.2 feet, the corvette is powered by diesel engines and waterjets with a maximum speed of 32 knots. Two additional units of the Baynunah class are expected for delivery in 2016.
On 1 May the Taiwanese navy decommissioned two former U.S. Knox-class frigates from service. The Chi Yang (ex–Robert E. Peary [FF-1073]) and Hae Yang (ex-Cook [FF-1083]) were built by Lockheed Shipbuilding in Seattle, Washington, and Avondale Shipyard in Westwego, Louisiana, respectively. Commissioned into U.S. Navy service during the early 1970s, the vessels each served 20 years before they were retired and transferred to Taiwan in the early 1990s. Once in Taiwanese service, the vessels underwent significant modernization that included fitting new search and fire-control radars and the addition of ten SM-1 MR surface-to-air missile-launch canisters. These ships displaced roughly 4,000 tons and measured 440 feet long, with a beam of 47 feet and a draft of 15.1 feet. The Chi Yang and Hae Yang, pictured here with a Taiwanese tug alongside, each had a crew of nearly 300 and possessed a top speed of 27.5 knots. Six sister frigates of the Knox class remain active with the Taiwanese navy.