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Type 45 Air Defence Destroyer

The Type 45 is a new class of Anti-Air Warfare Destroyer to replace the Royal Navy’s existing Type 42s. It will carry the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) capable of protecting the vessels themselves and ships in their company against aircraft and missiles, satisfying the Fleet’s need for area air defence capability well into the next century. PAAMS is being procured collaboratively with France and Italy.

The class is to be known as the 'D' Class. HMS Daring, HMS Dauntless, HMS Diamond, HMS Dragon, HMS Defender and HMS Duncan have been announced as the names of the first six ships.

At around 7,350 tonnes in weight and over 150 meters long, the Type 45s will be the biggest and most powerful air defence destroyers ever built for the Royal Navy and the largest general purpose surface warships. Equipped with the world-leading Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), providing the fleet with an air defence capability several orders of magnitude greater than provided by the existing Type 42 destroyers. They will be equipped with the world-beating Sampson Active Phased array radar, making them a world class maritime area air defence capability.

The hull structure is made of 2800 tonnes of steel which is more that the weight of the Blackpool Tower. Approximately 40 tonnes of paint will have to applied to cover an area of 100,000 square meters of steel. Each PAAMS air defence missile weighs almost as much as a small car and from launch accelerate to a speed twice that of Concorde in under 10 seconds. The missile's flight manoeuvres as it locks onto a target are so violent they are 10 times more severe than a human could withstand.

Her 152m length is equivalent to more than 16 double- decker buses and she is as high as an electricity pylon. Her onboard power plant can supply enough electricity to light a town of 80,000 people. Her fuel tanks have a volume equivalent to approximately half the volume of an Olympic swimming pool. The ship's crew will enjoy much better onboard conditions than their predecessors - including IT access, 5-Channel recreational audio, and larger berths. She contains 110 bunk beds, 26 sofa beds, 22 single beds and has her own hospital facilities complete with operating table. She is fitted with 1 bath, 44 showers, 54 toilets and 100 wash basins. She has 404 phones (mainly internal) and is fitted with enough electrical cable to circle the M25 three times.

The Type 45 Destroyer's principal role will be anti-air warfare and, equipped with PAAMS, the British Navy believes that the ship will be a world leader in its Class, capable of meeting both existing and emerging threats. The new ship has also been designed to contribute to a wide range of other operational scenarios ranging from humanitarian relief to anti-drug and embargo operations and incorporates significant margins of growth to facilitate future upgrades and added capability.

PAAMS has been designed to match and defeat the evolving threat of attacks from sophisticated anti-ship missiles and to deal with attacks by aircraft. It can control a substantial number of missiles in the air at once, thus making it difficult for attackers to swamp the Royal Navy's air defences. PAAMS equipment carried by each ship will include a 48-cell Sylver Vertical Launching System (VLS) for Aster missiles. Also central to the PAAMS system are the highly capable SAMPSON Multi-Function Radar (MFR) for surveillance and fire control, the S1850 Long-Range Radar (LRR) for air/surface search, and the Command and Control system.

The SAMPSON family of radars combines surveillance and dedicated tracking roles into a single system. Sited high on the ship, it can detect and track attacking aircraft and missiles while providing guidance for the ship’s own missiles. It supports point and area defence against current and future forecast air threats in an environment of heavy jamming and land and sea clutter. Functionality includes long- and medium-range search, surface picture and high-speed horizon search. It also performs high-angle search and track, multiple target tracking and multiple channel fire control. The S1850M Long-Range Radar provides three-dimensional long-range air surveillance and surface surveillance for PAAMS and other ship systems.

The mixture of shorter-range Aster 15 and longer-range Aster 30 missiles selected for the Type 45 are faster and more agile than the previous generation. Exceptional agility is achieved in the ‘end-game’ using a lateral thrust system – commonly known as PIF, PAF. The Combat Management System (CMS) enables the command team to manage and operate the combat system and achieve the ship’s operational objectives. It will perform tactical picture compilation, threat evaluation, weapon assignment and control of the other combat system equipment, including PAAMS.

The Type 45 Destroyers equipped with PAAMS will replace the current Type 42 Destroyers fitted with the Sea Dart anti-air warfare system. Designed in the 1960s, Sea Dart provides limited effectiveness against emerging stressing 21st century threats. A program of modifications to upgrade Sea Dart so that it can deal more effectively with modern threats such as sea-skimming and high-diving missiles is underway. The upgrade equipping Sea Dart with infrared fuses was originally forecast to come into service in 1993 but is running eight years late, primarily due to technical difficulties. It was forecast to come into service in mid-2001 at a cost of £43 million. This delay contributed to the anti-air capability shortfall.

As of 1999 it appeared that the first three Type 45 Destroyers will enter service with some capability shortfalls because some capabilities, such as a sonar, have been traded-off to make the ships affordable and to enable them to be brought into service sooner. The lack of sonar could impose operational and ship scheduling constraints on the initial ships until it is fitted. For example, without sonar it is unlikely that the Type 45 Destroyers would be deployed alone to theaters where a significant submarine threat is perceived. To address the shortfalls, the Department has planned an Incremental Acquisition Program whose priorities are the fitting of sonar and improved command and control, situational awareness and interoperability functions.

In addition to these priority needs, the Navy sees some other equipment as desirable and provision has been made in the ships' design for fitting this equipment to the Type 45 Destroyers in future, if the need arises. An Inner Layer Defence System is considered desirable to combat the threat from Fast Inshore Attack Craft. The First of Class will have no on-board torpedo launch capability but, as the Type 45 Destroyer will not be a dedicated Anti-Submarine Warfare platform, this is not regarded by the Navy as a critical shortfall. Provision has been made for extra helicopter launched torpedo storage. The Type 45 Destroyer's main gun armament meets some, but not all, of the Navy's requirements and is not seen as a long-term solution.

The new ship will introduce standards across cabins, messes and recreational areas that are suitable for both male and female sailors, and improve considerably on current levels. With its improved accommodation and ability to perform a variety of roles, the Type 45 is designed to meet the needs of a modern Navy in a changing world, and adapt to new needs throughout the life of the class. 'Room for growth' was a key operational requirement. While the complement is around 190 crew, there is space for up to 235, allowing for the transport of specialist teams and their equipment to carry out a variety of missions - whether military, para-military or disaster relief. This also allows for the Type 45 Destroyers to fulfil other roles, such as assisting in humanitarian relief or civilian evacuation missions.

Arguably as significant a change for the Royal Navy as the move from sail to steam, the Type 45 will introduce the first Integrated Electric Propulsion system. Benefits include a reduction in projected through-life costs because of lower maintenance and fuel consumption costs. The propulsion system is simpler to maintain and with no gearbox, allows for greater flexibility in ship layout. There are also improved environmental factors.

Program History

Based on the current assessment of the threat, the Equipment Capability Customer identified a requirement for a Class of up to 12 Type 45 Destroyers. However, this assumption can, and will, be subject to continuing critical operational analysis, taking into account up to date intelligence about the future threat. As of 2006 the Type 45 was planned as a class of eight ships. Approval had, so far, only been given for six ships.

In April 1999, the Defence Ministers of the United Kingdom, France and Italy decided not to proceed with the collaborative Common New Generation Frigate program and the UK decided to procure the Type 45 Destroyer as a national solution to the United Kingdom requirement. The Type 45 Destroyer program builds on the Assessment work carried out in Phase 1 of the collaborative HORIZON project, the warship element of the Common New Generation Frigate program.

Following the decision of the three HORIZON partners (France, Italy and the UK) to proceed with PAAMS, but to pursue national warship programs, BAE SYSTEMS was appointed Prime Contractor for the Type 45 in November 1999. PAAMS Assessment is complete and the contract for PAAMS Full Scale Engineering Development and Initial Production was placed in August 1999. Work was underway to achieve Main Gate approval for the warship and to place a contract for Demonstration and First of Class Manufacture by September 2000.

The Type 42 Destroyers were gradually replaced by the new Type 45 Destroyers. The new Type 45 Destroyers were expected to be considerably cheaper to operate and support than the Type 42 Destroyers, the first of which entered service in 1977. The Department estimated in 2000 that, in net total, it will cost an additional £537 million to operate and support the existing Type 42 Destroyers because of the 57 month delay, assuming that the schedule for retiring the Type 42s and commissioning the Type 45s remains as envisaged when the Department was committed to the collaborative Project Horizon programme. The greatest cost driver is expenditure on spares due to the age of the Type 42 Destroyers. Annual spares costs for each Type 42 are on average some £12 million compared to an average £4 million expected for the Type 45. Operating costs should also be less when the Type 45 enters service. For example, the complement anticipated for each Type 45 is 72 fewer than that for the Type 42, an annual cost saving of £2.3 million per vessel. The net additional support costs are accompanied by a substantial deferral of acquisition expenditure because of the delay in the planned ship order dates.

On 11 July 2000 Geoff Hoon announced that the Government had approved the construction of the first three Type 45 Anti Air Warfare Destroyers for the Royal Navy, within a planned class of up to 12. A £1 billion order for the construction of the first three ships of the class and long-lead items for up to three further ships with prime contractor BAE SYSTEMS was placed in december 2000. BAE SYSTEMS Electronics is the prime contractor for the Demonstration and First of Class Manufacture contract covering the first three vessels. The vessels will be constructed under sub-contract with two expected to be assembled by BAE SYSTEMS Marine and one by Vosper Thornycroft. At that time a further order, for the construction of the second batch of three ships, was expected to be placed with the prime contractor around 2004.

The contract procurement of a further three Type 45s was placed with the Prime Contractor in February 2002. The ships are being built under sub-contract by BAE Systems Naval Ships and VT Shipbuilding.

On March 28, 2003 Defence Procurement Minister Lord Bach officially launched production of HMS Daring, first of the new Type 45 class of Anti-Air Warfare Destroyer, at BAE Systems' shipyard at Govan in Glasgow.

The Type 45 Destroyer was forecast to enter service in November 2007, almost five years later than the date forecast for its predecessor, the tri-national Common New Generation Frigate. The in-service date was re-defined from September 2007 to November 2007 to include two months Operational Sea Trials but the program for delivery of the ships had not changed.

The contract, with BAE Systems as the Prime Contractor, was for six ships with orders for further ships expected later in the decade. The ships will be built by BAE Systems on the Clyde and by Vosper Thornycroft at Portsmouth.

During the year 2006 significant progress in the manufacture of the first three ships. The first ship, HMS Daring, was launched February 2006 and during the course of the following year was fitted with most of her equipment ahead of her first sea trials in 2007. The second, HMS Dauntless, and third, HMS Diamond, ships were on schedule. Main manufacture of the fourth ship, HMS Dragon, started during 2006. On the PAAMS program, the Sampson Multi-Function Radar demonstrated its ability to track targets; a production standard Long Range Radar was in operation at the Type 45 shore integration facility; and the Aster missile development programme is nearing completion following a number of successful firings during 2005.

On 23 January 2007 the Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dauntless was launched on the Clyde by Lady Burnell-Nugent, wife of the Commander In Chief of the Fleet.

On 14 August 2007 the Ministry Of Defence reported that the Royal Navy's newest and most sophisticated destroyer - to be called HMS Daring - had successfully completed demanding sea trials off the Scottish coast. Minister for the Armed Forces, Bob Ainsworth, said: "The Type 45 is an immensely powerful state of the art destroyer that will provide a vital layer of protection from missile attack for the fleet. Daring's success at sea - when I gather she exceeded her design speed of 29 knots - is an excellent start to the intensive trials phase that will now begin as we bring her world-leading missile defence system into full operation."