The delay with the Type 45 cruiser program is one that the Royal Navy hopes to leave in the past.
Russia’s Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov finally returned to the sea this week, beginning the first of its sea trials that will allow the warship to be returned to service after more than a quarter-century. By contrast, a Royal Navy destroyer has languished in port for just over 3,000 days!
The Type 45 destroyer, HMS Daring, has been undergoing a refit in Portsmouth that began in April 2017. The refit—originally scheduled to be completed around the year 2021—has instead taken longer than the initial construction of the warship. According to the UK Defence Journal, “from keel-laying to commissioning, the process took 2,307 days” but is finally reaching its end. Delays were due in part to the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic, followed by supply chain disruptions. In addition, the upgrades proved more time-consuming than initially expected.
“A shortage of personnel is making it hard to crew ships, there’s a lack of support infrastructure such as docks delaying work, and an insufficient stock of parts meaning ships can’t be kept operational and others are robbed for parts,” an open source military analyst who goes by the handle Britsky on social media told The Portsmouth News.
The Type 45 Destroyer’s Specifications
- Type: Guided-missile destroyer
- Displacement: 7,500 tonnes
- Length: 152.4 m (500 feet)
- Beam: 21.2 m (69 ft 7 in)
- Powerplant: Two Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines
- Speed: 32 kn
- Range: 7,000 nautical miles
- Crew: 191, accommodating up to 285
- Armament:
- “Sea Viper” Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS):
- One 48-cell Sylver A50 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for a combination of 48
- Aster 15 short-range missiles
- Aster 30 medium-range missiles
- Two Mk. 141 quad missile launcher for up to 8 x RGM-84 Harpoon SSM
- One BAE Mark 8 Mod.1 gun
- Two DS30B Mark 1 – 30mm machine guns
- Two M134 six-barreled machine guns (minigun)
- Two Mk 15 Phalanx CIWS
The Royal Navy Is Addressing Issues With the Daring Class
The upgrade of the warship, dubbed the Power Improvement Project (PIP), was meant to address several issues, notably with its WR-21 gas turbine engine that proved unreliable in warm climates. Work on the diesel generators was completed at the Cammel Laird shipyard in late 2022. That followed a return to Portsmouth, where the ship began a “regeneration phase” that addressed system testing, certification, and even retraining the crew.
At this point, HMS Daring had been in active service for eight years before beginning the refit, and when it finally returns to service next year, following sea trials and a shakedown, it will have spent as many years out of service.
This problem is hardly limited to the Royal Navy, as multiple Russian vessels have been undergoing even longer refits, as noted by the aforementioned battlecruiser. Likewise, refits and service on US Navy warships and submarines are running late. The refueling and complex overhaul of the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) lasted nearly six years, almost double the expected time.
Other British Destroyers Are Making Progress
All six of the United Kingdom’s Daring-class destroyers are undergoing similar upgrades. Already, HMS Dauntless and HMS Dragon have received the PIP modification, and the former vessel has returned to service while HMS Dragon is expected to have its work finished later this year.
HMS Defender, HMS Diamond, and HMS Duncan are next scheduled to receive the upgrades. Current plans call for work on all of the Type 45 destroyers to be completed by 2028.
The delay with the Type 45 cruiser program is one that the Royal Navy hopes to leave in the past.
A spokesperson for the senior service said in a statement, “We do not comment on the material state of our ships. The Royal Navy continues to fulfill all of its operational commitments.”
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
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