Destroyers get defence upgrade
THE Royal Navy is to become one of the first navies in Europe to use a £300m cuttingedge defence system – which will protect its Portsmouthbased destroyer fleet from anti-ship missiles.
TheMinistryofDefencehas announced that the UK is set to become the first European nationtooperatethemaritime ballistic missile defence capability,whichwillbefittedtothe navy’s six Type 45 destroyers.
The full upgrade programme will be worth more than £300 million, supporting more than 100 jobs, including highly-skilled roles in Stevenage, Cowes, Bristol and Bolton.
The defence system uses the ASTER 30 Block 1 missile, previouslyusedonlyinFrench andItaliandefencesystemson land. It comes amid ‘increasing’ threats posed by anti-ship ballisticmissilesatsea,according to a Ministry of Defence spokesman.
Defenceprocurementminister Jeremy Quin said: ‘As we face global uncertainty, alliances and greater defensive capability are more important than ever. Joining our French and Italian counterparts will see us collectively improve the cutting-edge technology our armed forces possess.
‘It is another example of us delivering on the commitments from the Defence Command Paper, helping protect our service personnel when faced with the most severe threats.’
AdditionalupgradeswillincludeupdatestotheSAMPSON multi-function radar and the Sea Viper command and control missile system, as work continues on the Sea Viper
Evolution programme.
Earlier this year, all six of the navy’s Type 45 destroyers were alongside in port for improvement works, as the ships had been plagued by engine issues since they were launched in 2010, with the former head of the Royal Navy labelling the dodgy engines a ‘bloody disgrace’.
Last month saw HMS Duncanbackatseaforthefirsttime since November 2019, after an overhaul that aims to prepare the Type 45 destroyer for the next five years of service.
The destroyer took to the waters off the south coast to undergo a series of trials.
The Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer fleet includes HMS Daring, HMS Dauntless, HMS Diamond, HMS Dragon, HMS Defender and HMS Duncan.
Each of the 152-metre long warships have a total range of 7,000 nautical miles.