Article Posted on : - Jul 13, 2011

HMS Diamond. Photo by UK MoD

LONDON (BNS): The Royal Navy's new advanced air defence destroyer, HMS Diamond, has entered service following extensive sea trials.

The ship will now undertake training in preparation for her first operational deployment in a few months' time, according to the MOD.

The vessel is capable of tracking and defending against multiple supersonic targets simultaneously, backed by long and short range radar and missile systems that can operate over distances in excess of 400km.

She can embark 60 troops and their equipment, supported by a modern medical facility that can deliver a surgical capability. She could also carry up to 700 people to support a civilian evacuation, it said.

The 7,000-tonne warship, launched on the Clyde in 2007, is one of six new Type 45 destroyers being built, the largest and most powerful ships of their kind ever ordered for the Royal Navy.

All the Type 45s will be based in Portsmouth. The first, HMS Daring, was commissioned in July 2009, followed by HMS Dauntless in June last year.

The fourth, Dragon, is due to arrive in Portsmouth for the first time in September 2011. All six are scheduled to be in service by the middle of the decade, it added.