HMS Daring (D32)
‘Destroyers’ engine woes will be fixed for
carrier’s first mission’
TOM COTTERILL
Published: 14:10 Sunday 10 December 2017
Officer in charge of Britain’s carrier strike group is
confident propulsion problems with the Type 45s will soon be a thing of the
past
ENGINE woes plaguing the Royal Navy’s £6bn destroyer fleet will be fixed before Britain’s new aircraft carrier comes into service, a top naval officer has said.
Commodore Andrew Betton is confident problems with the
propulsion system of the Type 45 fleet will be history by the time HMS Queen
Elizabeth takes on her first mission in 2021.
The £1bn-a-piece air defence destroyers will form a
‘critical part’ of the nation’s new carrier strike battlegroup.
Made up of frigates, destroyers, submarines and a host of
aircraft, the group will operate alongside the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft
carriers.
Cdre Betton – who is in charge of the carrier strike team
– said there is no need to worry about the abilities of the destroyers, which
have previously broken down while on deployment.
Earlier this month, HMS Diamond was forced to cut her
deployment in the Gulf short following issues with her engine.
Cdre Betton said: ‘The carrier strike capability is a
critical part of our future navy.
‘Type 45 offers us a world-beating capability. The
propulsion challenges we are facing with them are understood. Plans are in
place to rectify them.
‘I am confident these issues will be fixed before the
carrier’s first deployment.’
The Type 45s are touted by the navy as one of the world’s
most advanced warships.
But problems have blighted the fleet of six vessels,
which are all based in Portsmouth.
Issues stem from the vessels’ advanced design, which uses
two Rolls-Royce engines and two diesel generators.
The tech sees the ships’ shafts and the rest of its
systems powered by the same gas turbines but it has struggled with blackouts.
Issues with overheating in the hotter climates of the
Gulf have created power issues.
A multi-million pound refit programme has already been
agreed by the Ministry of Defence to rectify the problem.
As previously reported, defence minister Harriet Baldwin
said the refit plan was expected to begin in 2018.
Original post: portsmouth.co.uk
Related articles:
Type 45 Daring Class: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment