Royal Australian Navy began preparations for the commissioning of its second Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), NUSHIP Adelaide, which will take place Friday, December 4.
The 400 crew members of the Amphibious Assault Ship are readying themselves for this occasion.
Adelaide is the second of two Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs) to be commissioned and marks the transformation of Australian Defence Force capability. She joins her sister ship Canberra in service.
The LHDs will be employed in different roles and can be configured to suit different missions. The world class amphibious capability can undertake a broad spectrum of operations from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, security and stability operations across the Indo-Pacific region, to defence of the nation.
Adelaide can embark, transport and deploy an embarked force along with their equipment and aviation units. More than 1,000 embarked forces can be landed ashore by landing craft, helicopters, or a combination of both. She has a medical facility equipped with two operating theatres, an eight bed Critical Care Unit, and a variety of wards.
In addition, the medical facility has dedicated areas to accommodate pathology and radiology services, x-ray, pharmacy and dental facilities.
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Image: Royal Australian Navy