Programme overview
Original planned fleet: twelve ships
How many?: Reduced to six due to cost overruns – HMS Daring, Dauntless, Diamond, Dragon, Defender, and Duncan
Builder: BAE Systems, Scotstoun, Glasgow
First ship commissioned: 2009 (HMS Daring)
Lifespan: Now expected to remain in service into the 2040s following cancellation of the Type 83 successor
Specifications
Displacement: 8,500 tonnes (full load)
Length: 152 metres
Speed: 27+ knots
Propulsion: Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines and Wärtsilä diesel generators (integrated full electric propulsion – the first major warship class to use this system)
Complement: approximately 190 crew
Armament and systems
Sea Viper missile system: Aster 15 (range up to 30km) and Aster 30 (range up to 120km) surface-to-air missiles, 48 missiles in vertical-launch silos
4.5-inch Mk8 naval gun
Phalanx CIWS close-in weapon system
Two 30mm DS30M Mk2 cannons
Sampson multi-function active phased-array radar (can track hundreds of targets simultaneously)
S1850M long-range search radar
Flight deck and hangar for Merlin or Wildcat helicopter
Provision for Harpoon anti-ship missiles (not currently fitted to all ships)
DragonFire integration (2027)
The June 2026 Defence Investment Plan confirmed that DragonFire, MBDA’s 50kW high-energy laser weapon, will be fitted to at least two Type 45 destroyers by 2027. The system interfaces with the Sampson radar to detect and engage drone and missile targets at a cost of approximately £10 per shot – dramatically lower than missile-based interception. DragonFire adds a power-magazine capability that supplements the finite Aster missile load.
Known flaws
The Type 45 has been affected by a well-documented propulsion system problem: the WR-21 gas turbines have proved unreliable in warm-water environments, leaving ships with severely degraded or total loss of propulsion in warmer climates with global warming and rising sea temperatures that could be a real issue. The Power Improvement Programme (PIP) has been retrofitting additional diesel generators to all six ships to provide redundancy; the programme is ongoing as of 2026.
Strategic role
The Type 45 is among the most capable air-defence warships in the world. Its Sampson radar and Sea Viper combination provides area air defence for the carrier strike group and accompanying task group against aircraft, anti-ship missiles, and ballistic missiles. With the Type 83 successor cancelled, the six Type 45s must shoulder the burden alongside DragonFire and potential future upgrades through the 2040s.
Comparisons
The Type 45 is broadly equivalent in air-defence capability to the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (Flight III), though the Arleigh Burke carries a significantly larger missile magazine (over 90 cells versus 48 in the Type 45). The Sampson radar is regarded as technically superior to the US SPY-6 radar in target discrimination capability.
