"Very difficult choices" for Royal Navy destroyers amid HMS Daring's interminable period on side-lines
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A frustrated former Royal Navy captain believes the force faces “very difficult choices” when it comes to operating its destroyers.
Gerry Northwood believes the Royal Navy will have limited options due to the current status of many Type 45 destroyers. The main outlier is HMS Daring, which was spent over 3,000 days on the side-lines and not available to the fleet for more than eight years.
The anti-aircraft warships play a vital role in protecting other vessels from threats, utilising their sophisticated Sea Viper defence systems and long range radars to scope out targets and fire at them. Should they be deployed against adversaries in a carrier strike group, they will be charged as providing a barrier for support vessels.
With four destroyers being in refit in 2021, and key engines upgrades still to be fitted to some of the ships, Mr Northwood believes the government will be left with very limited options should British forces face missile attacks from foes such as Russia.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “We would have a Hobson’s choice of whether to protect London or other cities up and down the coast, or whether to let the Type 45s protect a naval taskforce on our northern flank. We’d have very difficult choices, with very few assets to distribute.”
When will HMS Daring be brought back into the Royal Navy fleet?
HMS Daring was originally withdrawn from the fleet in 2017. She was put through the Power Improvement Project (PIP), an upgrade programme to fix known problems to the Type 45s propulsion systems. The two original diesel generators have been replaced with three larger and more reliable units.
After being brought to the Cammell Laird yard in Merseyside, the destroyer returned to Portsmouth in 2023. Engineers are currently testing her systems, recertifying her certifications, and training a prospective crew. The hope is for HMS Daring to not only be brought up to standard but modernised to extend her lifespan. All Type 45 destroyers are expected to receive their PIP enhancements by 2028. It is projected that the ship may return to sea by January 2026.
Mr Northwood was distressed by HMS Daring’s extended period away from operations. He said: “The time it takes to build a ship these days is ridiculous. It is all about money, and if you don’t get the money, it is done in slow motion. Type 45 has been a victim of poor investment and a slightly over-adventurous approach to the engineering system, without having the money and the expertise to sort the problems out.”
A Royal Navy spokesperson previously said: “We do not comment on the material state of our ships, but the Royal Navy continues to fulfil all of its operational commitments.”