Portsmouth welcomes HMS Daring
- 00:01:31
- ITN
Portsmouth welcomes HMS Daring
The Royal Navy's most advanced warship, which cost £1 billion, has arrived at its home port of Portsmouth. Stealth destroyer HMS Daring has handed Britain a huge boost in firepower in the face of growing pressure on defence budgets. It is the first of six £1 billion Type 45 destroyers ordered by the Royal Navy with the capability to shield London from missile attacks in the 2012 Olympics and protect the UK's fleet from multiple sea-skimming weapons. The battleship was officially handed over to the Navy last month after work was completed at the BVT Surface Fleet's Scotstoun shipyard on the Clyde, Scotland. HMS Daring was met at Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, by a 15-gun salute as well as by families and friends of the ship's company. Hundreds of members of the public also lined the harbour walls to welcome the ship. The ship features the latest propulsion, anti-aircraft weapon and stealth technology. The destroyers have nearly twice the range - about 7,000 miles - and are 45 per cent more fuel-efficient than the Type 42 destroyers they are replacing in the £6 billion project. It is capable of sailing 3,000 nautical miles, operating for three days and returning home without the need to refuel. The ships are armed with the new hi-tech Sea Viper missile system, which in conjunction with the ship's Sampson Radar system is capable of tracking hundreds of targets as far as 250 miles away and engaging up to ten of them simultaneously. The battleship can operate various helicopters, including the Chinook, and is able of accommodating up to 700 people as part of an emergency evacuation. It has a crew of 191 and generates enough electricity from its gas and diesel engines to power a city the size of Leicester. Daring will now undertake an intensive sea trials programme for the rest of the year, with a formal commissioning ceremony due to take place in the summer with a target of formal acceptance into service by late 2010.
ITN | January 28, 2009
