Type 45 destroyer

	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
Succeeded by	Type 83 (on hold)
Cost	Over £1.050 billion per ship incl. research, development and weapons, £650 million per ship excl. R&D
Built	2003–2012
Planned	12 (2000), 8 (2004), 6 (ordered)
Completed	6
Active	6
General characteristics
Type	Guided-missile destroyer
Displacement	7,350 to 8,500 tonnes (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons)
Length	152.4 m (500 ft)
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, and:; 2 × Wärtsilä 12V200 diesel generators, 2 MW (2,700 shp) each, or:; 3 × MTU 4000 series diesel generators, 3 MW (4,000 shp) each;
Propulsion	2 shafts integrated electric propulsion with; 2 × GE Power Conversion Advanced Induction Motors and VDM25000 Drives, 20 MW (27,000 shp) each;
Speed	In excess of 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	In excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km; 8,000 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	191 (accommodation for up to 285)
Sensors &; 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 (to be replaced by SEA Ancilia decoy launcher system under contract awarded in 2024); Naval Decoy IDS300; Surface Ship Torpedo Defence;
Armament	Anti-air missiles:; PAAMS air-defence system; 48 × Sylver vertical launching system A50 for:; Aster 15 missiles (range 1.7–30 km); Aster 30 missiles (range 3–120 km), to be upgraded with a ballistic missile defence capability, called Sea Viper Evolution.; 24 × Sea Ceptor silos to be fitted starting on HMS Defender from 2026 for:; 24 × surface-to-air missiles that will replace the Aster 15 missiles to allow all 48 × Sylver vertical launching systems to be used for Aster 30].; Anti-ship missiles:; Harpoon Block 1C SSMs, originally fit (retired 2023); to be replaced with Naval Strike Missile in due course; Guns:; 1 × 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun; 2 × DS30B Mk 1 30 mm guns; 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS; 2 × 7.62 mm Miniguns (replaced by Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns as of 2023); 6 × 7.62 mm general purpose machine guns; Planned anti-drone CIWS:; [2 x DragonFire laser-based directed energy weapon (DEW): to be fit to at least two ships of the class starting in 2027];
Armour	Kevlar splinter protection, 70 mm magazine/VLS
Aircraft carried	1 or 2 × Wildcat HMA2, armed with:; 4 × Sea Venom anti-ship missiles (initial operating capability from October 2025; full operating capability projected from 2026), or; 2 × Sting Ray anti-submarine torpedoes, or; 20 × Martlet multirole missiles (from 2021); Mk 11 depth charges; or; 1 × Merlin HM2, armed with:; 4 × Sting Ray anti submarine torpedoes;
Aviation facilities	Chinook capable flight deck; Enclosed hangar;

The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or Daring class, is a class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and is built around the PAAMS (Sea Viper) air-defence system using the SAMPSON Active electronically scanned array (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. It is the last destroyer class made for the Royal Navy.

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, then 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 (up to) eight, finally with only six confirmed (in 2008) was controversial.

In 2016, it was revealed that due to a design flaw on the Northrop Grumman intercooler attached to the Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines, power availability was diminished considerably when functioning in the warm climate of the Persian Gulf, and it quickly became apparent that the class was not operating as originally envisioned. Therefore, a planned refit was scheduled from 2019 to 2021 to fully resolve the problems with the six ships in the class.

Under the previous plans, the Type 45 destroyer were planned to be replaced by the Type 83 destroyer, the first of which was expected to enter service in the late 2030s.