HMS Defender is the fifth ship of the Type 45

Type 45 destroyer

The United Kingdom's Type 45 destroyer is an air defence destroyer programme of the Royal Navy which will replace its Type 42 destroyers. The first ship in the class, HMS Daring, was launched on 1 February 2006 and commissioned on 23 July 2009. The ships are now built by BAE Systems Surface Ships...

 or 'D' class of air defence

Anti-aircraft warfare

NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 destroyer built for the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Construction of Defender began in 2006, and she was launched in 2009. The ship completed her first sea trials in October—November 2011, and she will enter service in 2013.

Construction

Defenders construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships

BAE Systems Naval Ships

BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions was a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems, based at two shipyards on the River Clyde in Glasgow and BAE Systems' Filton offices...

 (now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships) yard at Govan

Govan

Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....

 on the River Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

 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, while the second set of trials are to begin in March 2012, with Defender to be commissioned in early 2013.

Design

The Type 45 will be the most advanced air-defence warship in the world. The ship's capabilities centre on the SAMPSON

SAMPSON

The SAMPSON is a multi-function AESA radar produced by BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies. The SAMPSON multi function radar system is described by BAE Systems as being a world beating air defence system...

 Multi Function Radar, which can detect targets out to a distance of 400 kilometres (216 nmi), and the PAAMS

PAAMS

The Principal Anti Air Missile System is a joint French/Italian/British programme for a naval anti-aircraft weapon. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam and MBDA subsidiary UKAMS . MBDA also owns 66% of Eurosam, in effect giving it a 77% share of the project...

 missile system.

The Type 45 has frequently been cited by the British press as being the first class of warship to include e-mail and entertainment systems (including iPod

IPod

iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...

 charging points) within the messdecks. These reports relate to 230-volt domestic supplies and access to external e-mail, both of which have been common features in most RN vessels for several years.

Affiliations

• City of Glasgow
  Glasgow
  Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
  
  
• City of Exeter
  Exeter
  Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
  
  
• Exeter Flotilla
• 13 (City of Exeter) Squadron Air Training Corps
  Air Training Corps
  The Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
  
  
• Paddle Steamer Waverley
  PS Waverley
  PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973...
  
  

External links