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Waves power daring launch - Evening Times

Waves power daring launch

	JACK CREELMAN, 6, from Bishopton, cheers at the launch of HMS Daring

 

	SHIPWRIGHT Jason Wilson, from Faifley, with his wife Sandra and son Reece, 2, at today's launch

 

THOUSANDS of cheering children and shipyard workers today turned out for the Royal launch of the new pride of the Clyde.

Up to 11,000 flag-waving spectators packed BAE System's Scotstoun Yard to see the Countess of Wessex perform the traditional champagne ceremony to christen HMS Daring, the most technologically advanced warship in the world.

The Countess was led to the launch platform by two pipers to rapturous cheers from onlookers.

More than 1500 youngsters from schools across Glasgow were given the day off to witness the event - along with thousands of workers and their families.

The huge ship is 150metres long and it was an extremely delicate operation to launch it into the river - which is only 165metres wide at the spot where it slid down the ramp.

Giant chains were used to restrain the vessel to prevent it striking the other bank of the river, and the entire operation went like clockwork.

Jim Matthews, 54, of Cardonald, said: "I've never been to a launch before but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

"I'm really glad I came. The ship looks amazing. I never thought it would be as big as that."

Indicating the throng of excited schoolchildren waving balloons, he added: "I think they are enjoying it too, even though it's really cold out here."

David McCourt, a plumber at BAE Systems, was one of the many people who worked on HMS Daring.

"The fact that we're building even more of these ships is going to be a real lifeline for the yard," said Mr McCourt.

And Elizabeth Sneddon, of Clydebank, added: "I'm old enough to remember the launch of the QE2, and I wanted to come here today because it brings back lots of memories."

VIPs at the launch included high-ranking navy chiefs and Defence Secretary John Reid.

Mr Reid praised BAE and the 3000-strong workforce for pulling together and turning around the fortunes of the Clyde.

He said: "HMS Daring will be the most powerful destroyer the UK has ever built.

"The launch of this first Type 45 is a milestone to the Royal Navy of the future and is indicative of the quality and professionalism of the Clyde workforce.

"It is proof that the Government gives our sailors the tools they need to do their job now and in the future."

The Defence Secretary pointed out that HMS Daring had been delivered on time and on spec.

Vic Emery, managing director of the Clyde yards, added: "This is a great day for the shipbuilding community on the Clyde and for the men and women across the UK who have done so much to design and build this magnificent ship".

HMS Daring is one of six Type 45s being built at the Scotstoun and Govan yards. The others are to be launched in Govan over the next five years.

It is the first warship to be equipped with a revolutionary all-electric propulsion system, fired by diesel, which can power it to New York and back without having to refuel.

A BAE spokesman said: "The Type 45 is more efficient because you can run the whole ship off a single power plant at a reasonable speed of around 18-19 knots."

Daring represents a new dawn for shipbuilding on the Clyde.

The Type 45 replaces the ageing Type 42 fleet. Scotstoun and Govan workers will build at least another five destroyers at a combined cost of £2billion.

But behind the scenes, talks are under way in an attempt to win an order to build another two Type 45s on the Clyde.

At stake will be 3500 jobs. BAE Systems is recruiting up to 700 extra workers for the £2billion programme.

And they're worried the cost of building two additional destroyers will escalate and threaten the possibility of extra work if steel cutting cannot go ahead in 2008 and 2009.

Mr Emery said he wanted a final decision by July and warned: "Unless we get other work like export orders we will have more people than we have work."

But John Reid refused to commit to a new order for another two warships.

He insisted that no "blank cheques" would be written unless the price was right.

01/02/06

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

Britain

 

Times Online

February 01, 2006

Artist's impression of HMS Daring, the most powerful warship in history

 

Navy launches deadliest and most expensive warship

By Simon Freeman
 

 

HMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's £6 billion fleet of six Type 45 Destroyers, thundered down the slipway into the River Clyde in Glasgow today, spouting red, white and blue confetti from her formidable stern.

 

Weighing 7,350 tonnes, her 14 decks bristling with the latest military technology, Daring's successful launch - on time and within budget - is seen as a symbol of rebirth in the Clydeside shipbuilding yards which faced devastation six years ago. 

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, launched Daring at a ceremony at the shipyard in Scotstoun which was also attended by the Defence Secretary, John Reid.

HMS Daring slid into the water and was manouevred into place by three tugs, who guided her a few hundred yards down river to a dry dock where the finishing touches will be carried out, including the fitting of her guns.

The second and third ships in the six-ship order - HMS Dauntless, Diamond, Defender, Dragon and Duncan - are already being built. BAE Systems hopes the order will be extended to eight. The contract will keep about 3,000 workers employed until the end of the decade at Scotstoun and its sister yard Govan, across the river.

With a price tag of £605 million, the 150-metre long vessels will be the most powerful, advanced and deadly warships in the world when they come into service in 2009.

Among the battery of state-of-the-art equipment is a new Principal Anti-Air Missile System, which can trace and destroy hostile objects as small a cricket ball and travelling at three times the speed of sound over a radius of several hundred miles. Bad news for the Aussies.

Her PAAMS air defence missiles are the size of a public phone boxes, weigh
two thirds as much as a small car and from launch accelerate to a speed twice
that of Concorde in under 10 seconds.

The Defence Secretary said the launch was a proud day for the Royal Navy. "It’s a huge boost for the Royal Navy because this is the most capable, most powerful destroyer ever built in the UK," he said.

"Six years ago a lot of people had written them [the Clyde dockyards] off but not the workforce, not the new management and if I might say so not the then Secretary of State for Scotland [John Reid] either."

The main sections of Daring were built at Scotstoun, with the bow built by VT Group (formerly Vosper Thorneycroft) at Portsmouth and transported by barge to the Clyde. The ship was entirely designed on computer before the various modules were built and assembled in a dry berth.

HMS Daring's 230-strong crew should be happy too. She and her sisters will be the first "gender-neutral" warships to enter Royal Navy service, and the Hotel Facilities, as the living quarters are known, are the most opulent ever fitted in a British warship. Mess decks are replaced by individual cabins, each with their own  I-pod charging points, CD player, internet access, five channel recreational audio and larger berths.

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BBC NEWS Scotland Daring launch good news for Clyde

Daring launch good news for Clyde

By Hayley Millar
BBC Scotland business correspondent

 

The vessel will be fitted out with state of the art equipment

HMS Daring is the biggest warship ever to launch at the Scotstoun shipyard in Glasgow.

Every new ship is named by a Lady Sponsor and HMS Daring had a Royal launch, with Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex as her sponsor.

The Type 45s will replace the Navy's aging fleet of Type 42 destroyers, such as HMS Glasgow.

On the outside, first-of-class Daring is significantly bigger, but it is inside where the real differences lie.

Lt Cdr Dean Woodruff RN, who has been overseeing Daring's progress, said she was something special for the Royal Navy.

The combat system is the cutting edge of technology and we've gone to a full electric propulsion system   Lt Cdr Dean Woodruff

He said: "When she comes into service in 2009, we're going to have the most advanced warship in the world.

"The combat system is the cutting edge of technology and we've gone to a full electric propulsion system."

HMS Daring will have more firepower than the combined fleet of Type 42 destroyers.

Her main weapon, the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), will monitor the airspace for hundreds of miles around the fleet she is protecting.

For those serving on HMS Daring, life at sea should be much more advanced too.

Modern accommodation

More space has been allocated for recreational areas including the first purpose built fitness centre.

The old-style messes accommodating 30 or 40 men have been replaced by cabins which sleep six.

Each berth will have its own internet connection.

TYPE-45 FACTS AND FIGURES Length - 152.4m Beam - 21.2m (max) Displacement - 7,350 tonnes Range - 7,000 nautical miles Max speed - 27 knots Complement - 190 (max 235)

Lt Cdr Woodruff said it was a distinct step forward for the Royal Navy.

"We've certainly caught up with the electronic age," he said.

"Nowadays the crew can write home on their laptops and it can be with their loved ones within hours rather than days, which is what I was used to when I first joined up."

All ranks were asked what they would like on board Daring and 95% of their ideas have been incorporated.

"When I've been hosting fleet visits up here, they always tell me that they want to serve on this ship," Lt Cdr Woodruff added.

D-class fleet

"She should definitely help us recruit in the future."

Daring is the first of the Royal Navy's D-class of ships.

So far six ships have been ordered by the Ministry of Defence.

Dauntless and Diamond are currently being built across the Clyde at BAE's Govan yard.

 

BBC Scotland news website reader Barry Watson, from Scotstoun, Glasgow, captured HMS Daring on camera the night before her launch from BAE Systems' yard on the Clyde.

 

Along with Dragon, Defender and Duncan, the others will launch from Govan.

This 'production line' approach has led to improved efficiency in the Type 45 programme.

Andy Hamilton, BAE System's shipbuilding director at Govan is overseeing Daring's sister ships at the yard.

He admitted that as each ship was built, efficiencies improved.

Mr Hamilton said: "Today we drive for efficiency, so we need to ensure we're doing the work in the most cost effective manner."

Record investment

HMS Dauntless and Diamond are being fitted out to a much higher level than any previous class of ship.

Mr Hamilton said that, a year before her launch date, Dauntless was fitted out to a level normally not expected until two years after launch.

This expertise will prepare BAE Systems for its involvement in the Navy's new aircraft carriers, part of which will be built on the Clyde. Record number of apprentices and record levels of investment in the yards signal the healthiest future Clyde shipbuilding has seen for some time.

TYPE-45 DESTROYER - THE NAVY'S NEWEST WARSHIP

1 Flight deck to take Lynx or Merlin combat helicopter
2 Navigation radar
3 Long-range radar monitors air and surface threats
4 Communications mast
5 Small-calibre gun
6 Multi-function radar can guide ship's missiles and detect enemy ones
7 Gunfire control system
8 Vertical-launching system for short- and long-range missiles
9 Medium-calibre main gun
10 Bow sonar (under keel)