Australian light destroyer project

An artist's impression of the light destroyer design as approved by the Government in August 1972
Class overview
Builders	Williamstown Naval Dockyard (planned)
Operators	Royal Australian Navy (planned)
Preceded by	Daring-class destroyer and early River-class destroyer escort
Succeeded by	Adelaide-class frigate
Built	1975–1984 (planned)
In commission	1980 (planned)
Planned	10 originally, later 3
Completed	0
General characteristics
Type	Light destroyer
Displacement	4,200 tons
Length	425 ft (129.5 m)
Beam	48 ft (14.6 m)
Propulsion	Two shafts each with one Rolls-Royce Olympus and one Rolls-Royce Tyne gas turbine[2]
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	Up to 6,000 mi (9,700 km)[1]
Complement	210
Sensors and processing systems	Automated combat data system[2]
Armament	One 5"/54 calibre Mark 45 gun[2] Six Harpoon missiles[2] Two double-barreled close-range guns One Mk 13 missile launcher and Standard anti-aircraft missiles Six anti-submarine torpedoes in two triple tube mounts
Aircraft carried	Two helicopters
Aviation facilities	Hangar and stern flight deck
Notes	Ship characteristics from Gillett (1988), p. 68[3]

The Australian light destroyer project aimed to build a class of small destroyers for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The project began in 1966 with the goal of developing simple light destroyers (DDL) to support patrol boat operations. The project was rescoped in 1969 when the Navy decided to use the ships to replace other destroyers as they retired, leading to an increase in the design's size and complexity. The construction of three DDLs was approved in 1972. Concerns over the ships' cost and technological risk led the government to cancel the DDL project in 1973 on the RAN's advice, and a variant of the United States' Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate was procured instead.