HMS Dauntless joins fleet

Friday, June 04, 2010

HMS Dauntless, the second of the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers, has been formally commissioned into the fleet in a ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base.

HMS Dauntless' Commanding Officer, Captain Richard Powell, said the day marked a proud moment for the ship's 190-strong crew.

"The Type 45 destroyer represents the cutting-edge of air defence and propulsion technology and reflects the excellence of British manufacturing expertise delivering real operational capability," he said.

"The ship is able to deal not only with today's threats but most importantly tomorrow's, and will be a key element of the 21st century Royal Navy."

The ceremony was attended by the ship's sponsor, Lady Mary Burnell-Nugent, who had launched Dauntless at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard in Glasgow in January 2007, and Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar.

HMS Dauntless follows HMS Daring as the second of six Type 45 air defence destroyers being built for the Royal Navy, all of which are to be based in Portsmouth.

The third, HMS Diamond, will make her first entry into Portsmouth by the end of 2010.

All are designed to carry the UK variant of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) including the UK-designed Sampson multi-function radar. The system has been named Sea Viper by the Royal Navy.