Article Posted on : - Apr 24, 2012

New Type 45 destroyer Dragon. A UK MoD photo

LONDON (BNS): The British Royal Navy has formally commissioned HMS Dragon, the fourth of new powerful Type 45 destroyers into its fleet, the Ministry of Defence said.

The 'christening' ceremony was held on 20th April at Portsmouth Naval Base which marked the warship's transition into front line service, it said.

The 7,500-tonne HMS Dragon built by BAE Systems is the fourth of six Type 45 destroyers being built for the Royal Navy. All will be based in Portsmouth.

The first, HMS Daring, was commissioned in July 2009 and the fifth, Defender, is due to arrive in Portsmouth for the first time this summer.

All six are scheduled to be in service by the middle of the decade. The Type 45 destroyer is the largest and most powerful air defence destroyer ever built for the Royal Navy.

The warships are 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.