Article Posted on : - Nov 18, 2010

HMS Dauntless passes through the mouth of Portsmouth Harbour. A UK MoD photo

LONDON (BNS): HMS Dauntless – the second Type 45 anti-warfare destroyer – has entered service with the British Royal Navy after undergoing extensive sea trials during which it has also test-fired its newest air defence missile system, the Sea Viper, for the first time.

The warship, launched in January 2007, was handed over to the UK Ministry of Defence by BAE Systems in December 2009.

The guided missile destroyer began sea trials in March this year. During the second phase of trials in November, it successfully test-fired the advanced Sea Viper missile system at the MoD range in the Hebrides that destroyed a moving target drone.

The ship will now undergo further trials and training to prepare for her first operational deployment planned for next year, the Defence Ministry said.

HMS Dauntless entered naval service just over three months after the first Type 45 destroyer, HMS Daring, officially joined the British Navy in July 2010.

The Type 45 destroyer is the largest and most powerful air defence destroyer ever built for the Royal Navy. BAE Systems, the manufacturer of Type 45 destroyers, plans to deliver a total of six such warships to the British Navy by 2013.

The destroyers will be capable of carrying out a wide range of operations, including anti-piracy and anti-smuggling activities, disaster-relief work and surveillance operations as well as high intensity war fighting.

Each destroyer will be able to engage a number of targets simultaneously, and defend aircraft carriers or groups of ships, such as an amphibious landing force, against the strongest future threats from the air.