Article Posted on : - Jun 07, 2010

HMS Dauntless of the Royal Navy

PORTSMOUTH (BNS): HMS Dauntless, the second of the Royal Navy's new, formidable Type 45 destroyers, was recently commissioned into the fleet, on 3rd June, 2010.

The ceremony was conducted by the Venerable John Green, Chaplain of the Fleet.

HMS Dauntless' Commanding Officer, Captain Richard Powell, read out the Commissioning Warrant and the ceremony was rounded off in traditional Royal Navy fashion with the cutting of a commissioning cake, according to a news release by the UK Department Of Defence.

"The Type 45 destroyer represents the cutting-edge of air defence and propulsion technology and reflects the excellence of British manufacturing expertise delivering real operational capability," said Captain Powell.

HMS Dauntless is the second of six Type 45 destroyers being built for the Royal Navy.

The first, HMS Daring, was commissioned last July and the third, Diamond, will make her first entry into Portsmouth by the end of the year. All six are scheduled to be in service by the middle of the decade, as per the official release.

The Type 45 destroyer is the largest and most powerful air defence destroyer ever built for the Royal Navy. It will provide UK Defence with a world-class military capability.

The prime role of the Type 45 destroyer will be air defence i.e; protecting UK national and allied/coalition forces against enemy aircraft and missiles. It will carry the UK variant of the world-leading Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) including the UK-designed Sampson multi-function radar.

This system, which has been named Sea Viper by the Royal Navy, will set new standards in air defence, capable of defending the Type 45 and ships in its company from multiple attacks from even the most sophisticated anti-ship missiles and aircraft.

The Type 45 will also act as a base platform for a deployable headquarters, from where operations can be commanded.

The ship has a large flight deck that can accommodate helicopters and can also take up to 700 people if necessary to support a civilian evacuation from war zones or natural disasters.