Type 45 ("D" Class) Destroyer
Daring Class

Part 1
 

Type Designation: Destroyer, Guided Missile (DDG)

(Source: BAE Systems)

Notes:

1. Because of the modular nature of the Type 45 construction, the traditional milestone of the keel being "Laid Down" has been replaced by a ceremonial "cutting the first sheet of steel".  VT Shipbuilding and BAE Systems Naval Ships (now both part of BVT Surface Fleet) have announced very different dates for the cutting of steel, the table follows VT announcements but as result is different from latter BAE announcements.
2. In January 2004, BAE Systems announced that it would not be able deliver the first Type 45 until 2008 and a revised ISD of May 2009 was subsequently agreed with the MOD, this has since slipped by another seven months.  In late 2004, the MOD pushed back its desired ISD's of units T45-03 to -08 by one to four years compared with the prior plans but the dates finally  with contractors in August 2007 showed less of a slip for later units, which were already under construction by that stage.
 

Specification

Note that some characteristics and specifications may still change in later ships.  It's also been reported that several systems (as indicated) may not be initially fitted.

Displacement: 5,800 tonnes light; 7,350 tonnes deep load; 8000 tonnes design max
Dimensions: length 152.4 m overall, 143.5m lbp; beam 21.2 m; draught 5.7 m (500.0 x 69.6 x 18.7 feet).  Air draught 39m; depth (1 deck) 12.6 m
Speed: 29 knots max dash (over 31 knots on trials); 27 knots max sustained; cruise 18 knots
Endurance: 7000nm at 18 knots
Engines: Integrated Electric Propulsion (IEP); 2 x WR21 Rolls Royce-Northrop Grumman ICR gas turbines generator sets (WR-21 turbines down-rated to 21.5 MW each, Alstom supplied alternators at 21MW); 2 Alstom 15-phase electric induction motors (rated at 20MW each at 150 rpm); max total output 40MW (53,648 shp); 2 shafts;  2 x Wartsila 12V200 diesel Hitzinger alternator sets (rated at 2.2MW each)  for low speed propulsion and ship service requirements.
Complement: 190 crew (20 officers, 170 ratings), berthing for 235 including up to 60 Royal Marines.

Missiles:
SAM: PAAMS - Typical mix of: 32 Aster 30; active doppler radar seeker; 3 km to 80 km (1.6 to 45 n miles) at 4.0 Mach; warhead 15 kg (84C); and 16 Aster 15; active doppler radar seeker; 1.7 km to 15 km (1 to 8 n miles) at 15,000 m (49,000 feet) altitude at 4.0 Mach; warhead ? kg (84C); 6 x 8 cell DCN Sylver A50 Vertical Launch System
SSM: Fitted for but not with 8 ( 2 x 4 launchers) McDonnell Douglas Harpoon; active radar homing; up to 130 km (70 n miles)
Guns: 1 Vickers 4.5 in (114 mm)/55 Mk 8 Mod 1; 25 rds/min to 27 km (15 n miles) anti-surface; 6 km (3.3 n miles) anti-aircraft; 800 rounds; weight of shell 21 kg.
2 Raytheon 20mm Phalanx Block 1B Mk15 CIWS;
2 DES/MSI DS 30B 30 mm/75; REMSIG variant, 650 rds/min to 10 km (5.4 n miles) anti-surface; 3 km (1.6 n miles) anti-aircraft; weight of shell 0.36 kg
Torpedoes: None [Provision for fitting 4 Cray Marine 324 mm fixed (2 twin) tubes. Marconi Stingray; active/passive homing to 11 km (5.9 n miles) at 45 kt; warhead 35 kg (shaped charge); depth to 750 m (2,460 ft). Automatic reload in 9 minutes.]
Countermeasures: Thales integrated intercept and jammer suite
Decoys: 4 8-tube decoy RL; 4 DLJ(2) floating decoy launchers (offboard decoy rounds - Mk251 IR Active Decoy Round (ADR), Mk214 Seduction Chaff, Mk216 Distraction Chaff.  
Type 2070; J-SSTD (SLQ-25A(V)) active and passive towed torpedo decoy.
Combat data systems: BAE Insyte CMS-1; Links 11, 14 and JTIDS 16; Lockheed Martin CEC [uncertain, was until May 2005 planned for fit from 2012].
Astrium SCOT 3 SATCOM.
Weapons control: GWS 60 (for SSM). GWS ? (for SAM).
Radars: Long Range Air/Surface Search & IFF: Alenia Marconi Systems S1850M Smartello; D-band 
Surveillance & PAAMS Fire Control:  BAE Systems Sampson MFR; E/F band
Navigation: Raytheon Pathfinder Mk2
IFF: 1010/1011.
Sonar: Ultra-EDO Type 2100 medium-frequency system; bow-mounted; active search and attack.
Helicopter: 1 Westland Lynx HMA.8 or AgustaWestland Future Lynx (flight deck and hanger sized for Merlin HM.1)

Notes:

Project designation: Type 45 URD Issue 3
Status: Main Gate approval, contract awarded to Prime Contractor in November 2000
In Service Date:  December 2009

The Type 45 Daring Class destroyers will provide a much needed replacement for the Type 42 air defence destroyers.  It was originally planned that there would be 12 ships, and all would be in-service by 2014.  However in July 2004 the planned buy was reduced to 8, with the expectation that they would all to be in service by 2017.

Official approval for the first three units was announced on 11 July 2000 and the order for three complete ships (Batch 1) was placed on 21 December with the Prime Contractor (BAE Systems Electronics).  The prime contractor  subcontracted the construction and outfitting to BAE Systems Marine yards on the Clyde and VT Group's new facility at Portsmouth Naval Base. 

On 18 February 2002 the order was increased from 3 to 6 units - but it later emerged in early 2005 that the contractual increase was for the hull platform only.   The extra three (Batch 2) hulls were contracted for  - but many of their systems, the final integration and fitting-out weren't - this finally occurred in August 2007. 

In June 2005 the BAE Type 45 PCO submitted revised pricing for the completion of the Batch 2 units (T45-04 to 06) and - as an option - provided pricing for the hoped for final two units (T45-07 and 08).  Hopes for an order by the end of 2005 failed to materialise amidst hints that the MOD was looking for a much lower price.

In late 2005 the MOD started to refer to "up to eight" Type 45 destroyers, and were  decreasing chances that T45-07 and 08 would ever be ordered due to inadequate funding.

In December 2006 BAE bid for the completion of some or all of the Batch 2 units, and re-tendered for one or two additional units. 

On 19 June 2008 the Government finally admitted - as long expected - that the option for the seventh and eight Type 45's would not be taken up, and only six Type 45 destroyers would now be built.

Historical Background

The Royal Navy recognised the need for a replacement air defence capability as long ago as the mid 1980s, and the need to upgrade the GWS30 Sea Dart system was realised even earlier, during the Falklands Campaign.  Improvements to the Sea Dart missile have been aimed primarily at countering anti-ship missiles, against which it was not designed.  Progressive improvements in the threat, notably in stealth, speed, resistance to countermeasures and sophisticated terminal homing, have overtaken the further development potential of the Sea Dart and by the mid-eighties it was realised that a complete replacement system was clearly needed.

A national programme to replace the Type 42 Destroyers was the originally preferred procurement route and UK-only Type 43 and 44 programmes were considered.  However these were quickly discarded when it was realised that a number of European navies had similar requirements in the same timescale.  From this realisation grew the NATO Replacement Frigate (NFR 90) project which at its height encompassed 7 nations.  However, the inability to reconcile national variations of the base design and the bureaucratic complexity of project management led to the UK leaving the consortium, which shortly afterwards collapsed completely.  The demise of NFR 90 spawned two separate projects: the first, involving the Netherlands, Germany and subsequently Spain has lead to the F100/F124/LCF classes of ships based around the US Aegis AAW system deploying the Standard missile; the second started as an agreement between France and UK, joined soon afterwards by Italy, to build a Common New Generation Frigate comprising the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) deploying the Aster missile in the "Project Horizon" ship.  Unlike F100/F124/LCF, which is based on loose collaboration encompassing numerous national variations, CNGF had a tight Tri-partite Staff Requirement in which national variations were resisted, ultimately leading to its demise in 1999 when it proved impossible - despite many years of effort - to agree a viable and equitable industrial structure for the project.  The UK also objected to work-shares for France and Italy that were completely disproportionate to their expected orders (in 1998 they were willing commit to just 2 ships each, compared with UK's 12), and the unjustifiable French domination of the project's management.  In early 1999 the UK reluctantly withdrew from the Horizon programme (but not from the PAAMS project) and announced that it would instead develop a national design - the Type 45 destroyer.  Italy and France are continuing to develop a slightly smaller and substantially cheaper version of Horizon, still armed with PAAMS, of which they each ordered two ships in October 2001.

Role & Capabilities

With an anticipated service life of 25 years, the new destroyers will form the back-bone of the RN's anti-air warfare (AAW) capability until at least 2035.  Although potentially extremely powerful ships, to save money several major systems (anti-ship missiles, torpedo launch systems) which were originally planned to be fitted will not now, and other systems have been considerably down-graded (an existing 4.5" gun will be fitted rather than a planned new 155mm gun, old Phalanx CIWS mounts fitted rather than a new Inner Layer Missile System, a Lynx helicopter carried rather than the new Merlin, and plans for an anti-ship missile dropped).  It's hoped that these deficiencies will be remedied during the life of the class.  A senior Royal Navy source once said that the ships "are not the best that we could build, but we are getting a dozen, and the armament enhancements to the later ships will improve their capabilities considerably."  Sadly a dozen is now very unlikely.

Key user requirements (KUR's) are:

As of November 2006, KUR 4 will not be met and KURSs 2 and 3 may not be met when HMS Daring enters service in late 2009.

Part 2 of this article...
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