Daring Class

Type 45 Destroyer

Britain’s six Type 45 Destroyers are among the most advanced warships ever built. They’re suited to a huge range of tasks, from hunting down pirates to defending the Fleet from air attack, or providing humanitarian aid.

Equipped with the ferocious Sea Viper missile, which can knock moving targets out of the sky from up to 70 miles away, Type 45 Destroyers are the backbone of the Royal Navy.

 

At a glance

displacement

7,350 tonnes

Total displacement

152 metres

Total length

top speed

30 knots

Top speed

7,000 nautical miles

Total range

A warship for the 21st Century

The Type 45 Destroyer is more than just a ship: it’s a symbol of Britain’s eminent place on the world stage and a powerful deterrent to those who would do us harm. It’s the embodiment of the Royal Navy’s commitment to defending the Fleet, upholding the law, and protecting our economy and way of life.

Weapons and capabilities

Communications

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

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

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

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.

Being a part of the Surface Fleet

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.

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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Mediterranean

Operation Sophia

A European Union Naval Force operation to counter arms bound for Libya, in support of the UN arms embargo. 

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