HMS Defender is the fifth of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers
built for the Royal Navy. She is the eighth ship to bear the name.
Construction of Defender began in 2006, and she was launched in 2009. The ship
completed her first sea trials in October–November 2011, and was
commissioned during March 2013. Operational history
Defender '​s construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships yard at Govan on
the River Clyde in July 2006. The launch date was 21 October 2009. On 21 October
2011, she left Scotstoun shipyard in Glasgow on her maiden voyage exactly two
years to the day after she was launched, to conduct her first stage of sea
trials. These trials were completed in mid-November. On 9 March 2012, she once
again left the Clyde to commence a second round of trials, scheduled to
last 28 days in the waters off western Scotland. She was scheduled to be
formally handed over to the Royal Navy and commissioned in 2013. The ship left
Scotstoun on 21 July 2012 on her delivery voyage. Defender entered
Portsmouth at 10:00 on 25 July 2012 where BAE Systems and the Royal Navy
conducted a formal handover ceremony. At 14:00 that day she raised her White
Ensign for the first time as a Royal Naval vessel under the command of
Commander Phil Nash. Defender was commissioned on 21 March 2013. She
stopped off at her home on the Clyde for final testing and was open to members of
the public on Saturday 30 November 2013 before going into active service.
= Recent service = Defender sailed 700 miles from
Portsmouth to the north east of Scotland on 19 December 2013 to meet the Russian
task group of 6 ships including the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and
accompany them down the east coast of Scotland. The vessels were held back by
bad weather and had anchored in the Moray Firth.
Defender has been part of Operation Shader, being an air defence guard ship
for the US Carrier Task Force 50. It sailed on 19 October 2015 for a
second deployment to the Middle East region. On the 18 November it was
annouced Defender would deploy alongside France's Charles De Gaulle Carrier
battle group, deployed off the coast of Syria as an air defence escort. This is
in response to France's activation of article 42.7 of the EU Treaty.
Characteristics = Advanced air-defence =
The Type 45 destroyers are primarily designed for anti-air warfare with the
capability to defend against sophisticated targets such as fighter
aircraft, drones as well as highly maneuverable sea skimming anti-ship
missiles travelling at supersonic speeds. The Royal Navy describes the
destroyers' mission as being "to shield the Fleet from air attack". The Type 45
destroyer is equipped with the sophisticated Sea Viper air-defence
system utilizing the SAMPSON active electronically scanned array
multi-function radar and the S1850M long-range radar. The PAAMS system is
able to track over 2,000 targets and simultaneously control and coordinate
multiple missiles in the air at once, allowing a large number of tracks to be
intercepted and destroyed at any given time. This makes the PAAMS system
particularly difficult to swamp during a saturation attack, even against
supersonic targets. The USNWC has suggested that the SAMPSON radar is
capable of tracking 1,000 objects the size of a cricket ball travelling at
three times the speed of sound, emphasising the system's capabilities
against high performance stealth targets. A core component of the PAAMS
air-defence system is the Aster missile, composing of the Aster 15 and Aster 30.
MBDA describe Aster as a "hit-to-kill" anti-missile missile capable of
intercepting all types of high performance air threats at a maximum
range of 120 km. The Aster missile is autonomously guided and equipped with an
active RF seeker enabling it to cope with "saturated attacks" thanks to a
"multiple engagement capability" and a "high rate of fire". Presently the
Daring-class destroyers are equipped with a 48-cell A50 Sylver Vertical
Launching System allowing for a mix of up-to 48 Aster 15 and 30 missiles.
= Weapons, countermeasures, capabilities and sensors =
Affiliations City of Glasgow
City of Exeter Exeter Flotilla
TS Exeter Sea Cadet Corps 13 Squadron Air Training Corps
Paddle Steamer Waverley Worshipful Company of Fletchers
Exeter City Football Club Footnotes
Notes References
External links Royal Navy HMS Defender