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Designed by BAE Systems, the Type 45 is an Anti-Air Warfare Destroyer conceived to protect UK and allied/coalition forces at sea and in the littoral against the full range of enemy aircraft and anti-ship missiles. In addition she has a wide suite of capabilities including Maritime Force Projection through Naval Fire Support and Littoral Manoeuvre.The Type 45 represents a quantam leap in surface warfare design and capability reflecting innovation, foresight and an eye to the future in virtually every aspect. High speed, extended endurance and aggressive capability combine to provide robust, versatile and economic maritime effect.
To meet the challenging speed and endurance requirements, the Type 45 Destroyer accommodates two Rolls Royce WR21 Gas Turbine-driven alternators, two Wartsila Diesel Generators, two Alstom Electric Propulsion
Motors and their associated control and distribution systems. The ship will accelerate faster and turn inside current ships, with a top speed of well over 30 knots. The Type 45 are the first warships to feature Integrated Electric Propulsion, replacing gearboxes with direct shaft drive from electric motors.
Type 45 provides the future air defence capability for the Royal Navy, offering local air defence for maritime task group and area air defence at long range.
The Type 45’s radar can track multiple incoming targets simultaneously, prioritise them, assign countermeasures and deploy them to their targets. It can even track a threat the size of a cricket ball approaching at three times the speed of sound. When required, the Type 45 can fire multiple missiles at a time and guide each one precisely to a different target.
The Type 45’s main weapon is Sea Viper, a surface-to-air missile system developed under a tri-national programme by France, Italy and the UK. This advanced weapon system will defend the Type 45, her consorts and other task force vessels against highly manoeuvrable hostile incoming aircraft and missiles approaching at subsonic and supersonic speed, individually or in salvoes. The Type 45 will be alerted to
a potential threat by her electronic warfare system, long-range radar, or by early warning from allied units.
Sea Viper can counter an individual or saturation attack by engaging the target, or simultaneously engaging multiple targets from any angle. At the heart of Sea Viper is a Command and Control (C2) System which
optimises the Type 45’s response to the attack. Launched from six eight-cell DCN Sylver A50 vertical launchers controlled by the Sea Viper System, the MBDA mediumr-range Aster 15 or long-range Aster 30 super-agile
manoeuvring missiles with re-attack mode are guided towards their targets by the ship’s multi-function radar, even in severe electronic countermeasures environments. Once locked on, the Aster missiles pursue their
targets relentlessly at speeds of Mach 4 to 5, overcoming even the most evasive dog-leg manoeuvres until the threat is intercepted and eliminated.
The head of class, HMS Daring was delivered to the Royal Navy in July 2009.
The Royal Navy intends to commission 6 Type 45 Destroyers.
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