Daring Class

Communications

The Type 45 Destroyer is fitted with a Fully Integrated Communications System (FICS45), which provides voice, intercom, data links and conference calls both internally and externally.

The Type 45 Destroyer’s communication’s suite also includes a Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) system, which provide the ship with total awareness of the surrounding environment.

Guns

The Type 45 Destroyer also comes equipped with an array of conventional weaponry, including the BAE Systems 4.5-inch Mark 8 Mod 1, two 30mm DSM Mark 2s, two Phalanx 20mm close-in weapons systems, two 7.62mm miniguns, and up to six FN MAG general purpose machine guns.

This fearsome arsenal is designed for a range of purposes, from repelling fast inshore attack craft to destroying short-range missiles in mid-air.

Radar and countermeasures

The onboard Seagnat decoy system uses radar jamming and deception to protect the Type 45 Destroyer from incoming missiles, while the Surface Ship Torpedo Defence System (SSTD) safeguards against waterborne threats.

The Type 45 Destroyer is also equipped with a bow-mounted medium-frequency Ultra/EDO MFS-7000 sonar to detect enemy submarines, while the Sea Viper missile system uses the SAMPSON AESA and S1850M long-range radars to detect and track enemy missiles.

Sea Viper missile system

The Sea Viper missile system is the Type 45 destroyer’s principal weapon, able to track – and destroy – multiple aerial threats simultaneously from hostile aircraft to the latest anti-ship/anti-surface missiles and drones.

Shooting a moving target out of the sky from a ship is no easy task – but the Sea Viper’s unique capabilities, such as the ability to launch eight missiles in less than ten seconds and to simultaneously guide up to 16 missiles at a time, make it a world leader.

The system is undergoing a £300m upgrade which will ensure Sea Viper can fend off the latest threats from ballistic missiles.

Lt Jenkins, 25

Warfare officer

The job may be intense, but it’s incredibly rewarding. I also get to work on some of the most advanced warships on the planet.

Bridge Watch

Part of my job is ‘watching on the bridge’, acting as a helmsman. It means I’m actually in charge of steering the ship, a billion-pound Type 45 Destroyer.

Comms

When we’re on operation, the information I gather is crucial to the overall mission, so I’m sending key data to other vessels for their Commanding Officers to make decisions.

Downtime

We get time off every day, so if the operation allows it, I’ll spend time relaxing in the mess or going ashore with my crewmates.

PT

The job gets pretty physical, so keeping up a good level of fitness is really important. When time allows, I’ll hit the treadmill or rowing machine in the gym we have on board.

Radar

I work in the ops rooms a lot, using our Early Warning Radar system. I pass information to my Warfare Officer so they can make decisions about the mission.

Training

Training’s happening all the time, so I’m constantly honing my skills – whether in the classroom or on board a vessel.

Click on a location to explore our operations

Middle East

Kipion

Units of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been on patrol in the Gulf since October 1980, after the Iran/Iraq conflict of that year, and more recently operations have extended further south with the increase in piracy off the Somalia coast.

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Bay of Biscay

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 is a multinational, integrated maritime force - made up of vessels from various allied nations, training and operating together as a single team - that is permanently available to NATO to perform a wide range of tasks, from participating in exercises to crisis response and real world operational missions.

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Middle East

Kipion MCMV

In support of wider British efforts in the region, minehunters are providing the capability to conduct route survey, sea-bed clearance, and mine clearance operations all over the Gulf. The operation provides a visible naval presence in a region where stability and good relations with local nations is vital. Much of the UK’s oil and gas, as well as other products, come from the Gulf region and as such these efforts are paramount to our economy.

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Arctic

Nato MCMV Force

The RN has always supplied an MCMV to one of the two NATO Mine Counter-Measures Squadrons. These are six-month deployments as part of the NATO Standing MCM Groups and will generally be around the coasts of Northern Europe or the Mediterranean depending upon the squadron in which the RN ship is working.

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North Sea

Standing Nato Maritime Group 1

Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 is a multinational, integrated maritime force - made up of vessels from various allied nations, training and operating together as a single team - that is permanently available to NATO to perform a wide range of tasks, from participating in exercises to crisis response and real world operational missions.

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United Kingdom

Fishery Protection

Protecting the British fishing industry and safeguarding the nation's fishing stocks.

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Gibraltar

Gibraltar Squadron

Conducting security patrols within British Gibraltar territorial waters, and providing protection to warships.

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Antarctic

Antarctic patrol

To provide a UK sovereign presence in the British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and their surrounding maritime areas, to underpin their security and good governance; and meet the UK treaty obligations and exercise rights under the Antarctic Treaty System through inspections, hydrographic charting and support to scientific research.

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