At least five of the six Type 45 destroyers in the British Royal Navy cannot go on a mission at sea because of technical issue, routine repairs, maintenance and ongoing modernization. This was announced by the United Kingdom Secretary of Defense Procurement Jeremy Quinn.
Four ships of this class – HMS Daring, HMS Duncan, HMS Dragon, HMS Dauntless, which are at various stages of repair and modification.
Another destroyer, HMS Diamond, had technical problems with the propulsion system in July while escorting a British aircraft carrier group led by the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Mediterranean. As a result, this destroyer, which was supposed to provide air defense for the aircraft carrier strike group, could not go on a long voyage across the Indian Ocean to the Far East with an aircraft carrier. Instead, it remained for repairs at the Souda Bay naval base on the Greek island of Crete. The only destroyer in service is HMS Defender.
The UK has awarded two contracts to install newer air defence systems on the Type 45 destroyers. The first contract is to integrate the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) programme, often referred to as Sea Ceptor, into the Type 45 destroyers’ Sea Viper weapon systems. The second contract is for a refresh of the Aster 30 missile’s system that are currently in use. Presently, the Type 45 destroyers use a combination of short-range Aster 15 and long-range Aster 30 anti-air missiles. A 24-missile CAMM silo is being added in front of the current 48-missile Aster 30 silos, resulting in a total capacity of 72 anti-air missiles per destroyer.
The Royal Navy plans to finish the overhaul of the first Type 45 destroyer by summer 2026.
The main combat strength of the British Royal Navy includes two aircraft carriers, six destroyers, 13 frigates, seven nuclear attack submarines and four strategic nuclear submarines carrying nuclear-armed Trident II D5 intercontinental ballistic missiles.