Article Posted on : - Jun 13, 2012

HMS Diamond. A UK MoD photo

PORTSMOUTH (BNS): The British Royal Navy's new advanced air defence destroyer, HMS Diamond, is all set for its maiden international deployment in the Middle Eastern region.

The Type 45 destroyer, which entered service in July 2011, will set sail from its homeport at Portsmouth on Wednesday for a six-month tour of duty in east of Suez.

The warship will take over from its sister ship, HMS Daring, which has been deployed in the region since the beginning of the year, the Defence Ministry said.

It will carry out maritime security patrols in the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and the Gulf -- anything from counter-piracy and smuggling operations to the wider mission of working with the UK's allies in the region.

Diamond's departure means half of the £6bn force of Type 45 destroyers -- Daring, Dauntless (in the Atlantic) and D34 herself -- will be deployed simultaneously, something hailed as a 'watershed' moment for the cutting edge T45 programme, the Defence Ministry said.

HMS Diamond is one of the six Type 45 class anti-air warfare destroyers built by BAE Systems.

The Type 45 destroyer is the largest and most powerful air defence destroyer ever built for the British Royal Navy. Capable of carrying out a wide range of operations, the 7,000-tonne warship can engage a number of targets simultaneously, and defend aircraft carriers or groups of ships, such as amphibious landing force, against the strongest future threats from the air.