MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

RN new Type 45 destroyer undergoes successful sea trials

The Royal Navy's first-of-class of the new Type 45 Destroyers HMS Daring has now completed a range of stringent trials and tests and is due to sail to her home port of Portsmouth in January 2009. The 7,500-ton ship is scheduled to undertake several months more of exhaustive trials and training before she is declared ready for operational service.

The construction of HMS Daring has involved thousands of people at shipyards on the Clyde in Scotland and at Portsmouth, using factories and businesses across the UK. Accepting the first-of-class from Prime Contractor, BVT Surface Fleet Ltd, MOD's Defence Equipment and Support Type 45 programme director, Dave Twitchin, said: "The Acceptance-off-Contract today of HMS Daring is by far the most exciting and formative milestone of the year. It is the culmination of an incredible amount of hard work by all those who have been involved in the program, particularly in the past two years. HMS Daring has proved to be a highly capable ship and has delivered on all of her promises and more. The final phase of her sea trials under MOD control will test her even further. "I have no doubt that she will come through with flying colors, and will become the hallmark of the modern Royal Navy and will go on to provide great service for many years to come." Since being launched by the Countess of Wessex in 2006, HMS Daring has been fitted with the world-beating Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), designed to deal with multiple attacks by anti-ship missiles, and her long range and multi-function radars. The ship is extremely versatile and a number of helicopters, including the Chinook, will be able to operate from her deck. "Anyone who has sailed on HMS Daring will tell you that she is a truly magnificent ship. The Type 45 is an incredibly complex warship using cutting-edge technology throughout; around 80 per cent of the equipments used are new to service. It will provide a positive step-change in the UK's air defence capability and will be a vital part of the Royal Navy's future armory", said Captain Paul M. Bennett. HMS Daring will be capable of undertaking a wide range of missions from combat to humanitarian and will be able to carry a significant number of extra people such as troops or evacuated personnel on board. Top quality accommodation has been fitted so the crew can live and work in comfort. The ship also has her own hospital facilities complete with operating table. The ship is powered by the WR21 Gas Turbine, enabling her to reach speeds of up to 29 knots (54 kilometers per hour). She has already successfully completed an extensive program of rigorous sea trials demonstrating her capability as a world class air defense destroyer. HMS Daring will leave her home on the Clyde with a fully-trained crew, arriving into Portsmouth for the first time in January 2009. Her formal commissioning is planned for summer 2009. HMS Daring is the first of eight Type 45 destroyers. The second ship HMS Dauntless is currently undergoing her first sea trials; in November the fourth Type 45, HMS Dragon was launched on the Clyde. The third ship, HMS Diamond will undergo inaugural sea trials next year and the fifth Type 45 "Defender" is scheduled to be launched in early 2009. The Type 45 class will be the largest and most powerful air defense destroyers ever operated by the Royal Navy and the largest general purpose surface warships (excluding aircraft carriers and amphibious ships) to join the fleet since World War Two cruisers. The projected deep load displacement of the Type 45, at around 7,200 ton, will also exceed that of any other general purpose surface combatant, again excluding aircraft carriers and amphibious ships, built for the Royal Navy since the Tiger class cruisers of the 1941 program. The main armament of the class will be the sophisticated and lethal Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS), which is being developed and procured jointly with France and Italy. PAAMS will equip the Type 45 to defend itself and other ships in company from attack by existing and future anti-ship missiles of all types. The Type 45 will also be able to operate close inshore and use PAAMS to give air cover to British Forces engaged in the land battle. The system is designed to defend against supersonic, stealthy, highly maneuverable missiles that could use sea-skimming or steep-diving flight profiles approaching in salvoes, simultaneously from several directions. PAAMS is capable of controlling several missiles in the air at any one time, each one of which could engage individual targets, preventing attackers from swamping the fleet's air defenses. MOD oversight of the three-nation PAAMS project is provided by Type 45 Anti Air Warfare Destroyer project team members working at the joint PAAMS Project Office in Paris, from where the program is administered. (RN/MP)