The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer (also known as the D or Daring class) is a state of the art air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on February 1, 2006 and is expected to come into service in 2009. The ships are assembled by BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions from partially prefabricated "blocks" built by BAE and VT Group.
The UK originally sought to procure air defence ships as part of the 8 nation NFR-90 project and later the Horizon Common New Generation Frigate programme with France and Italy. The Type 45s take advantage of some Horizon development work and utilise the SAMPSON radar variant of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System - PAAMS(S).
After Daring's launch on 1 February 2006, former First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West stated that it would be the Royal Navy's most capable destroyer ever, as well as the world's best air defence ship. The Daring class represents the largest escort type ever built for the Royal Navy.
The Type 45 destroyers will be 152.4 m in length, with a beam of 21.2 m and a draught of 5.0 m. This makes them significantly larger than the Type 42 they replace, displacing about 7350 tonnes compared to 5200 tonnes of the Type 42. The Type 45 destroyers are the first British warships built to meet the hull requirements of Lloyd's Register's Naval Rules. BAE Systems is the Design Authority for the Type 45 a role traditionally held by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The Type 23 frigates were the first British warships to incorporate signature reduction technology, with the large 70° angle of the bow, the elimination of right angles and reduced equipment on deck. The propulsion system was also chosen to minimise noise, with electric generators providing minimal acoustic signature for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions and the infrared signature is reduced by cooling devices on the funnels. The design of the Type 45 builds upon the design of the Type 23. It brings new levels of signature reduction to the Royal Navy, with the reduced deck equipment producing a very "clean" superstructure similar to the La Fayette class of frigates. Life rafts and docking equipment are concealed behind superstructure panels and the mast is very sparingly equipped.
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