Type 45 Destroyer (Daring Class) (RN) [News Only]

[Jackstar]

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon is breathing fire once more and eyeing a return to the fleet in 2024 as work to install new engines reaches a notable milestone.
The Type 45 destroyer has been undergoing major upgrades in Portsmouth since March 2022 and, nearly two years on, one of Dragon’s new engines has been started for the first time as part of critical trials.

The ship is the latest of her class – after HMS Dauntless and HMS Daring – to go through the Power Improvement Project (PIP), which addresses the resilience of the engines and power generation driving the many hi-tech sensors, systems and weapons on board.

To make the necessary upgrades, the two original diesel engines were removed and replaced with three more reliable, more powerful, cleaner generators.
Ultimately, the ship will be more powerful – 4,000hp to be precise – reliable, greener and ready to embark future weapons.

Before returning to sea, Dragon is undergoing trials afloat in a non-tidal basin in Portsmouth which test each of three engine installations is correct, integrated effectively into the workings of the ship, can be controlled remotely and, eventually, that they can all work together to power and propel the ship.

Dragon’s Senior Naval Officer, Lieutenant Commander Fiona Stephenson, said: “The inaugural roar of Dragon’s new engines marked the beginning of the next chapter in our return to the fleet.

“I am proud of the hard work of our marine engineering team and industry partners and look forward to delivering as one team as we breathe fire into Dragon.”

Marine Engineering Officer Lieutenant Commander James Baddeley added: “It is really exciting to see the PIP installation coming to life to increase the capability of the platform, the successful first start is testament to all the hard work which has gone into the design and installation onboard.”

HMS Dragon is the first of the Type 45s to undergo PIP in Portsmouth, with HMS Dauntless and HMS Daring’s work taking place at Cammell Laird.

HMS Dauntless returned to the Fleet at the beginning of last year, deploying to the Caribbean to support British Overseas Territories during hurricane season and counter drugs trafficking in the region. Her successful actions on that deployment underscored the success of the major engine upgrades.

PIP is being delivered under a major design and manufacture contract between the Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems, and delivered in collaboration with BMT Defence services and Cammell Laird.
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... the-dragon

[serge750]

HMS Diamond

[tomuk]

HMS Diamond

The aviation preservation movement must be up in arms with Diamond claiming kills of a Avro Vulcan and a De Havilland Vampire.

[new guy]

Nice video, with a zoom all across the ship

[tomuk]

Nice video, with a zoom all across the ship

Didn't relise Diamond hadn't had the updated pole mast or it looks like Samson update either as she's missing the slot around the mast below Samson.

[pko100]

Nice video, with a zoom all across the ship

Didn't realise Diamond hadn't had the updated pole mast or it looks like Samson update either as she's missing the slot around the mast below Samson.

The updated pole mast is for Shaman which is slowly being fitted across the Type 45s. I cann't remember whether it is planned to fit it to the Type 26s.

SAMPSON is being upgraded as part of SVE Capability 1. By the slot below SAMPSON, do you mean the 4 arrays fitted only to Duncan which were for CEC. CEC was cancelled as part of the 2010 review to remove the £37b overspend that existed in the 10 year equipment programme.

[tomuk]

Nice video, with a zoom all across the ship

Didn't realise Diamond hadn't had the updated pole mast or it looks like Samson update either as she's missing the slot around the mast below Samson.

The updated pole mast is for Shaman which is slowly being fitted across the Type 45s. I cann't remember whether it is planned to fit it to the Type 26s.

SAMPSON is being upgraded as part of SVE Capability 1. By the slot below SAMPSON, do you mean the 4 arrays fitted only to Duncan which were for CEC. CEC was cancelled as part of the 2010 review to remove the £37b overspend that existed in the 10 year equipment programme.

No on T45s that have had deep maintenance a slot or seam has appeared below SAMSON but above the ESM aerials. I assumed it was something to with the SAMSON reliability updates detailed on Navylookout or elsewhere, not SVE, which included improved cooling air to the radar.

[pko100]

Thanks for the update, I'll have a look to see what you mean.

[Poiuytrewq]

Good news!

[Ron5]

Nice video, with a zoom all across the ship

Didn't realise Diamond hadn't had the updated pole mast or it looks like Samson update either as she's missing the slot around the mast below Samson.

The updated pole mast is for Shaman which is slowly being fitted across the Type 45s. I cann't remember whether it is planned to fit it to the Type 26s.

SAMPSON is being upgraded as part of SVE Capability 1. By the slot below SAMPSON, do you mean the 4 arrays fitted only to Duncan which were for CEC. CEC was cancelled as part of the 2010 review to remove the £37b overspend that existed in the 10 year equipment programme.

No on T45s that have had deep maintenance a slot or seam has appeared below SAMSON but above the ESM aerials. I assumed it was something to with the SAMSON reliability updates detailed on Navylookout or elsewhere, not SVE, which included improved cooling air to the radar.

Is this what you are talking about?

[tomuk]

Nice video, with a zoom all across the ship

Didn't realise Diamond hadn't had the updated pole mast or it looks like Samson update either as she's missing the slot around the mast below Samson.

The updated pole mast is for Shaman which is slowly being fitted across the Type 45s. I cann't remember whether it is planned to fit it to the Type 26s.

SAMPSON is being upgraded as part of SVE Capability 1. By the slot below SAMPSON, do you mean the 4 arrays fitted only to Duncan which were for CEC. CEC was cancelled as part of the 2010 review to remove the £37b overspend that existed in the 10 year equipment programme.

No on T45s that have had deep maintenance a slot or seam has appeared below SAMSON but above the ESM aerials. I assumed it was something to with the SAMSON reliability updates detailed on Navylookout or elsewhere, not SVE, which included improved cooling air to the radar.

Is this what you are talking about?

Yes that is the feature I was referring to. However on looking at more pictures of the T45s I think that seam is just a build difference between the ships. Daring and Dauntless have the seam but the later four T45s don't instead they have pairs of 'rivets' at the same point around the mast with Duncan being the odd one out with the extra CEC arrays.

[Poiuytrewq]

Diamond returning to the Red Sea.

[Repulse]

Diamond returning to the Red Sea.

Must be something about the T45 that is in demand

[Markam]

Article on the BBC about the HMS Diamond.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68640568

[Jackstar]

T45 destroyers, T26 & T31 frigates will be fitted with enhanced decoy launchers.

[2HeadsBetter]

Not the carriers huh?

And yes, they should get a decent ECM system installed,

[serge750]

My understanding Babcock and Elbit Systems UK won athe £100 million contract Nov'21 for the Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC) Increment 1A, CDR was approved Nov '23 so it could proceed with manufacture, testing and acceptance the with its Israeli eM-e dominate system of systems for maritime EW an adaptive, open architecture system split in its command and control element, sensors element and countermeasures element.  MEWSIC will see the next generation of Radar Electronic Support Measure (RESM) and EW Command and Control (EWC2) equipment being installed on T45, QNLZ and PoW, and the T26 and T31 frigates .

[tomuk]

Does anybody know what the Elbit RESM antennas look like? The current UAT antennas on T23 and T45 are quite distinctive.

[NickC]

No pic but Elbit Systems UK have a PDF on their eM-e dominate system, The next generation of Maritime Electronic Warfare

https://www.elbitsystems-uk.com/what-we ... minate.pdf

[NickC]

The French Defence Minister on his attack French defence industry disclosed latest French contract for Asters "The 200 long-range Aster missiles worth €900 million"
So £3.85 million each, what is not known is the breakdown of the order between the various variants of Aster 30 B1 New Technology (NT), Aster 30 B1 etc.

[tomuk]

No pic but Elbit Systems UK have a PDF on their eM-e dominate system, The next generation of Maritime Electronic Warfare

https://www.elbitsystems-uk.com/what-we ... minate.pdf

I had a look at the some pictures of the new sa'ar 6 corvettes that supposedly have Ebit EW systems, there is a paucity of pics of them fitted out but there two sort of cheese wedge boxes fitted either side of the mast above the radars which look like they could be the antennas.

[Caribbean]

BZ HMS Diamond! Lucky we have a T45 in the region

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... c-missile/