16/12/2005

Royal Navy set to launch 'D' Class destoyer

The Countess of Wessex will launch the first of the Royal Navy's new 'D' Class destroyers early next year.

HMS Daring, the seventh vessel to carry the name, will be the first of the Royal Navy's batch of Type 45 air defence destroyers.

Armed with a sophisticated new weapon system, Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), at around 7,350 tonnes, the ships are the biggest and most powerful vessels of their type ever built for the Royal Navy.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West said: "The Type 45 will be a superb piece of high-technology innovation and engineering, delivering unsurpassed capability to the Royal Navy."

The Type 45 building programme has secured more than 2,000 jobs on the Clyde, 650 shipbuilding jobs in Portsmouth and many more jobs at sub-contractors around the country.

Defence Secretary John Reid said: "I am delighted that the Countess of Wessex will launch HMS Daring, the first of the Type 45s and part of a huge shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy. The launch of this ship demonstrates the Government's commitment to our shipbuilding industry."

The Ministry of Defence has placed a contract with BAE Systems and other suppliers for the first three ships of the class, and negotiations continue for three more hulls.

Destroyers are the workhorses of the fleet, optimised for air defence, while the smaller frigates are primarily designed to engage fast moving surface and subsurface targets.

At home in large task groups or working independently, both types of ships may operate in enforcement, humanitarian relief or anti-drug patrol roles.

Traditionally in naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and manoeuvrable yet long-range warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group.

Originally providing defence capabilities against smaller, short-range attackers, such as motor torpedo boats, though latterly submarines and aircraft, the destroyer's role is vital to many sea-borne operations.

(SP/KMcA)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

12 December 2005
Countess of Wessex to launch Type 45 destoyer
The Countess of Wessex will launch the first of the Royal Navy's new 'D' Class destroyers early next year. HMS Daring, the seventh vessel to carry the name, will be the first of the Royal Navy's batch of Type 45 air defence destroyers.
18 September 2009
Stamps Mark Naval Heritages
Weapons Engineer, Sandy Jardine - pictured on HMS Daring - the Royal Navy's newest, most powerful destroyer, lent a hand to launch Royal Mail's Royal Navy Uniforms Special Stamps. He was helping out as Royal Mail charted over two centuries of Royal Navy uniforms on six new stamps just issued.
04 January 2007
Police seize pit bulls in Merseyside raids
Eight pit bull terrier dogs have been seized by Merseyside Police in a series of raids. The raids, which took place on Wednesday night, followed the death of five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson, who was mauled to death by a pit bull terrier at her grandmother's home in St Helens in the early hours of New Year's Day.
13 January 2006
£100M combat training system for Navy
Defence Procurement Minister Lord Drayson has announced a £100 million contract for advanced computerised training systems for the Royal Navy. The Maritime Composite Training System will help the Royal Navy maximise the combat effectiveness of existing major surface warships, as well as future Type 45 destroyers.
04 July 2014
Queen Names UK's Newest And Biggest Royal Navy Aircraft
The Queen has named the UK's new Royal Navy Aircraft at a ceremony in Fife's Rosyth. The vessel is the most powerful aircraft carrier ever built for a British fleet.