Aboard was a crew of 184 to include air wing personnel as a pair of medium-lift helicopters were supported through the stern-based combination helipad-hangar section (typically the Sikorsky MH-60R "Seahawk"). The warship was outfitted with various sensors and processing systems which today include the AN/SPS-49 air-search radar, the AN/SPS-55 surface-search radar, and the SPG-60 Fire Control radar.
Armament-wise, the warship carries 1 x 76mm OTO-Melara turreted deck gun at the forecastle, 1 x 8-cell Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) (for the "Evolved Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile), and 2 x Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes. Rounding out the armament suite is 1 x 20mm Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), 2 to 6 x 12.7mm trainable heavy machine guns, and the optional 2 x 12.7mm Raphael M2HB "Mini Typhoon" CIWS.
The original armament fit included support for Harpoon anti-ship missiles as well as RIM-66 Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles fired from a Mark 13 series launcher unit. The Mark 41 VLS appeared in a 2005 upgrade modernization effort to keep the vessel viable for modern naval warfare.
Melbourne's initial deployment saw her sent to the volatile Persian Gulf theater in 1996. In early-2000, she was stationed near East Timor to assist in the unrest there. 2002 saw the warship take part in "Operation Slipper" as part of the UN-led enforcement action against Saddam Hussein's Iraq. In 2003, she participated in the US-led invasion of Iraq which ended Hussein's grip on power (but added severe destabilization to the region). In the mid-2000s, the class, including Melbourne, received a massive modernization to their weaponry, sensors, radars, and general combat readiness and capabilities. HMAS Melbourne returned to Middle East waters in mid-2010 and engaged in anti-piracy actions in and around the Arabian Sea. Since 2014, she has been engaged in anti-smuggling operations in waters around Australia.
Of the four Adelaide-class vessels commissioned, four have been decommissioned as of April 2018. These are Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, and Darwin. Adelaide and Canberra were sunk as diving wrecks in 2011 and 2009, respectively, and Sydney was scrapped. Darwin, decommissioned in December of 2017, awaits her scrapping fate. Only HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Newcastle remain active from the original stock - though their years appear to be marked.
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