Type 45 destroyers

HMS Daring departing Portsmouth Naval Base, 1 March 2010.
Class overview
Name:	Type 45 destroyer
Builders:	BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Type 42
Cost:	Over £1,050M per ship incl. R&D
Planned:	6
Completed:	6
Active:	6
General characteristics
Type:	Guided missile destroyer
Displacement:	8,000 to 8,500 t (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons)
Length:	152.4 m (500 ft 0 in)
Beam:	21.2 m (69 ft 7 in)
Draught:	7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Installed power:	2 × Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines, 21.5 MW (28,800 shp) each 2 × Wärtsilä 12V200 diesel generators, 2 MW (2,700 shp) each
Propulsion:	2 shafts integrated electric propulsion with 2 × Converteam electric motors, 20 MW (27,000 shp) each
Speed:	In excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	In excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)
Complement:	191 (accommodation for up to 235)
Sensors and processing systems:	SAMPSON multi-function air tracking radar (Type 1045) S1850M 3-D air surveillance radar (Type 1046) Raytheon Integrated Bridge and Navigation System 2 × Raytheon AHRS INS (MINS 2) 2 × Raytheon I-band Radar (Type 1047) 1 × Raytheon E/F-band Radar (Type 1048) Ultra Electronics Series 2500 Electro-Optical Gun Control System (EOGCS) Ultra Electronics SML Technologies radar tracking system Ultra Electronics/EDO MFS-7000 sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys:	UAT Mod 2.0 (2.1 planned) AN/SSQ-130 Ship Signal Exploitation Equipment (SSEE) Increment F cryptologic exploitation system Seagnat Naval Decoy IDS300 Surface Ship Torpedo Defence
Armament:	Anti-air missiles: Sea Viper air defence system, with a 48-cell Sylver A50 VLS, for mix of up to 48: Aster 15 missiles (range 1.7–30 km) Aster 30 missiles (range 3–120 km) Anti-ship missiles: 2 × quad Harpoon launchers Guns: 1 × BAE 4.5 inch Mk 8 naval gun 2 × Oerlikon 30 mm guns 2 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × Miniguns 6 × General purpose machine guns
Aircraft carried:	1–2 × Wildcat, armed with: 4 × anti ship missiles, or 2 × anti submarine torpedoes or 1 × Westland Merlin, armed with: 4 × anti-submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilities:	Large flight deck Enclosed hangar

The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or Daring class, is an advanced class of six guided missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The class is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and is built around the PAAMS (Sea Viper) air-defence system utilizing the SAMPSON AESA and the S1850M long-range radars. The first three destroyers were assembled by BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions from partially prefabricated "blocks" built at different shipyards, the remaining three were built by BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships. The first ship in the Daring class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009.

The Type 45 destroyers were built to replace the Type 42 (Sheffield class) destroyers that had served during the Falklands War, with the last Type 42 being decommissioned in 2013. The National Audit Office reported that, during an "intensive attack", a single Type 45 could simultaneously track, engage and destroy more targets than five Type 42 destroyers operating together. After the launch of Daring on 1 February 2006 Admiral Sir Alan West, a former First Sea Lord, stated that it would be the Royal Navy's most capable destroyer ever, as well as the world's best air-defence ship. The reduction in the number to be procured from twelve, then to eight and eventually down to six (in 2008) was controversial. Another controversy erupted when it was revealed that due to issues with the Northrop Grumman intercooler on the WR-21 gas turbines, the class were not operating as originally envisioned in the warm climate of the Persian Gulf. As a solution, a future multi million-pound refit for the class adding additional power generation capacity is planned.