Type 45 destroyer

HMS Daring departing Portsmouth Naval Base, 1 March 2010
Class overview
Name	Type 45 destroyer
Builders	BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Type 42
Succeeded by	Type 83
Cost	Over £1.050 billion per ship incl. Research and development, £650 million per ship excl. R&D
Built	2003–2012
Planned	12 (2000), 8 (2004), 6 (ordered)[1][N 1]
Completed	6
Active	6
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	7,350[4] to 8,500 tonnes (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons)[5][6][7]
Length	152.4 m (500 ft)
Beam	21.2 m (69 ft 7 in)
Draught	7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Installed power	2 × Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines, 21.5 MW (28,800 shp) each, and: 2 × Wärtsilä 12V200 diesel generators, 2 MW (2,700 shp) each,[8] or: 3 × MTU 4000 series diesel generators, 3 MW (4,000 shp) each
Propulsion	2 shafts integrated electric propulsion with 2 × GE Power Conversion Advanced Induction Motors and VDM25000 Drives, 20 MW (27,000 shp) each
Speed	In excess of 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph)[9]
Range	In excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,000 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)[9]
Complement	191[10] (accommodation for up to 285)
Sensors and processing systems	SAMPSON multi-function air tracking radar (Type 1045) S1850M 3-D air surveillance radar (Type 1046) Raytheon Integrated Bridge and Navigation System 2 × Raytheon AHRS INS (MINS 2) 2 × Raytheon I-band Radar (Type 1047) 1 × Raytheon E/F-band Radar (Type 1048)[11] Ultra Electronics Series 2500 Electro-Optical Gun Control System (EOGCS)[12] Ultra Electronics SML Technologies radar tracking system Ultra Electronics/EDO MFS-7000 sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	UAT Mod 2.0 (2.1 planned)[13] AN/SSQ-130 Ship Signal Exploitation Equipment (SSEE) Increment F cryptologic exploitation system[14] Seagnat (to be replaced by SEA Ancilia decoy launcher system under contract awarded in 2024)[15] Naval Decoy IDS300 Surface Ship Torpedo Defence
Armament	Anti-air missiles: PAAMS air-defence system 48 × Sylver vertical launching system A50 for: Aster 15 missiles (range 1.7–30 km) Aster 30 missiles (range 3–120 km), to be upgraded with a ballistic missile defence capability,[16] called Sea Viper Evolution.[17] 24 × Sea Ceptor silos to be fitted starting on HMS Defender from 2026 for: 24 × surface-to-air missiles that will replace the Aster 15 missiles to allow all 48 × Sylver vertical launching systems to be used for Aster 30.[18][19][20] Anti-ship missiles: Harpoon Block 1C SSMs, originally fit (retired 2023);[21][22][23][24][25] to be replaced with Naval Strike Missile in due course)[26][27][28] Guns: 1 × 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun 2 × DS30B Mk 1 30 mm guns[29] 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × 7.62 mm Miniguns (replaced by Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns as of 2023)[30] 6 × 7.62 mm general purpose machine guns
Armour	Kevlar splinter protection, 70 mm magazine/VLS
Aircraft carried	1 or 2 × Wildcat HMA2, armed with: 4 × Sea Venom anti-ship missiles (projected from 2026),[31] or 2 × Sting Ray anti-submarine torpedoes, or 20 × Martlet multirole missiles (from 2021) Mk 11 depth charges or 1 × Merlin HM2,[32] armed with: 4 × Sting Ray anti submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilities	Chinook capable flight deck Enclosed hangar

The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or Daring class, is a class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and is built around the PAAMS (Sea Viper) air-defence system using the SAMPSON Active electronically scanned array (AESA) and the S1850M long-range radars. The first three destroyers were assembled by BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions from partially prefabricated "blocks" built at different shipyards; the remaining three were built by BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships. The first ship in the Daring class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009.^[33]

The Type 45 destroyers were built to replace the Type 42 (Sheffield-class) destroyers that had served during the Falklands War, with the last Type 42 being decommissioned in 2013. The National Audit Office reported that, during an "intensive attack", a single Type 45 could simultaneously track, engage and destroy more targets than five Type 42 destroyers operating together.^[34] After the launch of Daring on 1 February 2006, Admiral Sir Alan West, then First Sea Lord, stated that it would be the Royal Navy's most capable destroyer ever, as well as the world's best air-defence ship.^[35] The reduction in the number to be procured from twelve, then to (up to) eight, finally with only six confirmed (in 2008) was controversial.^[36][37]

In 2016, it was revealed that due to a design flaw on the Northrop Grumman intercooler attached to the Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines, power availability was diminished considerably when functioning in the warm climate of the Persian Gulf,^[38][39] and it quickly became apparent that the class was not operating as originally envisioned.^[40] Therefore, a planned refit was scheduled from 2019 to 2021 to fully resolve the problems with the six ships in the class.^[41]

Under current plans, the Type 45 destroyer will be replaced by the Type 83 destroyer, the first of which is expected to enter service in the late 2030s.^[42]

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