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HMS Daring (D43) represents the lead ship of her six-strong class of surface fighting vessels of the British Royal Navy - generally regarded as the most powerful destroyer class anywhere in the world. The vessel is a part of the modern Type 45-class and charged with a multi-role existence in service to the fleet as a guided-missile destroyer - primarily providing air defense from incoming threats such as aircraft or cruise missiles. As such, HMS Daring is comparable in mission scope and reach to the United States Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, capable of engaging all manner of surface and aerial threats as required. HMS Daring was initially ordered in December of 2000 and had her keel laid down on March 23rd, 2003 by BAe Systems Naval Ships at shipyard No. 1061. She was launched on February 1st, 2006 and, after successfully completing her requisite sea trials, was officially commissioned on July 23rd, 2009. She currently maintains an active presence in the British Fleet, fights under the motto of "Splendide Audax" ("Finely Daring") and makes her homeport out of HMNB Portsmouth in Southern England.

Navy destroyers are purposely built as fast warships with great ocean-going qualities and inherent agility. Their armament consists of a multi-mission approach to both offense and defense and the type can operate within the ranks of the sailing fleet or independently of said fleet when tracking down peripheral threats such as marauding enemy submarines. HMS Daring, in particular, is built within an 8,800-ton range and powered by an integrated electric propulsion system consisting of gas turbines, diesel and electric generators. The vessel is also outfitted with a slew of sensors and processing systems allowing it to track, identify and engage variable target types at range.

Design of the HSM Daring is conventional in the modern sense. The bow is sharp, extended rearwards to the widened amidships and squared off at the stern. The deck is purposely designed as featureless to promote "stealth-like" qualities on the high seas. As such, the sides of her superstructure are covered over in a long-running sloping panel. The deck gun is positioned along the long forecastle with the vertical launch missile cells directly aft. Aft of the launch cells is the start of the main superstructure containing the bridge (identified by its large rectangular window panes). Aft of the bridge section is a pyramidal-shaped mast enclosure containing a radome at its very top (this the Sampson surveillance and fire control system). Along the sides of the pyramid are two satellite communications domes set on protruding shelves. The superstructure then takes a dramatic drop to the enclosed funnel exhausting the engine arrangement, its top noticeably squared off. There is a noticeable gap between the forward portion and rear portion of the superstructure while the portion aft of amidships contains a pole mast followed by another pyramidal-shaped structure capped by the air-search radar system. The hangar is contained aft of this structure while the helipad is situated at the extreme end of the ship. Overall, HMS Daring promotes an excellently clean profile fitting of a modern surface warship.

Propulsion for HMS Daring is provided by the Integrated Electric Propulsion (IEP) system delivering to twin shafts. The arrangement utilizes 2 x Rolls-Royce WR-21 series gas turbine engines (outputting 28,800 shaft horsepower each) with 2 x Wartsila 12V200 diesel-fueled generators (2,700 shaft horsepower each and 2 x Converteam electric motors (27,000 shaft horsepower. This supplies the vessel with a top speed of 30 knots in ideal conditions and an operational range of 7,000 nautical miles. The IEP arrangement benefits the design by not requiring a mechanical transmission to either shaft. The gas turbines and diesel generators feed into frequency converters ahead of the electric motors mounted to each propeller shaft. As such, the vessel can utilize a low-powered approach during basic cruising and a high-powered approach for full-flight maneuvers by using one form of propulsion (or both) at any given time. There are stealth- and maintenance/cost-related benefits to the configuration which is growing in popularity with naval warships.©MilitaryFactory.com

The vessel is well-armed for its given role (the categorization of "destroyer" says it all). As a guided-missile destroyer, HMS Daring fits a 48-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS) containing 48 x surface-to-air missiles. Depending on the type of missile stored (Aster 15 or Aster 30 series or a combination of both), these weapons can reach out to targets some 2 to 120 kilometers away. The launch cells are backed by a more conventional deck gun fitting - a 4.5" BAE Systems Mk 8 Mod 1 series rapid-fire cannon - capable of engaging surface targets at range or supplying offshore bombardment. The cannon is a single-barrel system housed in an armored enclosure with traverse limited only by the superstructure aft of the VLS. HMS Daring fields an additional 2 x 30mm cannon arrangement as well as 2 x 20mm Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS) for short-range work of aerial threats. Should the target make it beyond this defensive network, the crew can then call upon 2 x minigun systems as a final layer of defense. Up to 6 x 7.62mm general purpose machine guns are fitted about the vessel to defend from extremely close-range threats such as suicide boats. It is worth noting that HMS Daring is also configured to field a pair of AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers (quad launchers) as well as the proven BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile series. All told, HMS Daring is properly arranged to engage enemy strike aircraft, bombers, cruise missiles, enemy warships and submarines with equal lethality.

Beyond her array of physical armament, HMS Daring plays upon her electronics suite to gain the advantage in a given fight. Sensors include the SAMPSON multi-function air tracking radar system as well as the BAe/Thales S1850M series fully-digital Electronic Support Measures (ESM) 3D surveillance radar. Raytheon supplies the vessel's I- and E-/F-band radar systems while Ultra Electronics provides the Electro-Optical Gun Control System (EOGCS), a radar tracking suite and the MFS-7000 series sonar system. HMS Daring is also fitted with countermeasures in the way of the UAT 16 arrangement, the Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) suite and the Airborne Sys IDS300 decoy system. All Type 45 vessels receiver the advanced Thales ESM system in early 2012.

With its helipad situated to the rear (as well as the enclosed hangar facility), HMS Daring can launch and retrieve 1 or 2 x Westland Lynx HMA 8 series navalized helicopters or 1 x Westland Merlin HM 1 medium-lift transport helicopter. Both types can be outfitted with anti-ship and anti-submarine measures to provide an over-the-horizon approach to dealing with potential threats. The hangar facility allows for repairs and maintenance to be conducted while at sea and the area is completely protected from the elements.

After her launch, HMS Daring was assigned to patrol the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions for prowling Somali pirates - a growing threat. The vessel became part of an international presence in East African waters seeking to contain the threat to commercial shipping in the region (oil being a primary concern) and, as such, the ship and crew worked in conjunction with allied navies. Beyond this action, HMS Daring's history is yet to be written in full.©MilitaryFactory.com

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