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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 Thousands cheer on warship launch

Thousands cheer on warship launch

 

The Navy said HMS Daring would house cutting edge technology

Thousands of people have witnessed the launch of what has been hailed as the UK's most powerful destroyer.

HMS Daring was sent down the slipway into the River Clyde in Glasgow by the Countess of Wessex.

The ceremony at the BAE Systems shipyard in Scotstoun was also attended by Defence Secretary John Reid.

The Type 45 destroyer is the first of six to be built in Glasgow and the Navy claims it will be the most advanced warship in the world.

With a price tag of £605m, the 150m long vessel weighs in at 7,350 tons. It will officially come into service in 2009.

Each D-class destroyer will have more firepower than the combined fleet of Type 42s.

The combat system is the cutting edge of technology   Lt Cdr Woodruff

People of all ages were represented at the event, with babies in prams, school children and their parents and elderly ship launch veterans among the crowds.

A full brass band played as balloons were released and crew members on deck waved as the ship moved into the water.

About 680 tons of drag chains had to be used to slow down the ship and stop it moving too close to Braehead shopping centre on the south bank of the river, where hundreds more stood watching the launch.

The vessel has been designed to defend UK forces from air attacks and weaponry includes the Principal Anti-Air Missile System, which will provide airspace cover for hundreds of miles around.

'Natural home'

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

The six Royal Navy destroyers are said to have safeguarded more than 2,500 shipbuilding jobs in Glasgow and Portsmouth.

Vic Emery, managing director of BAE Systems Naval Ships, said: "The current contract for six Type 45s will keep this company busy for at least the next six to seven years.

An artist's impression of a Type 45 warship at sea

"We are looking for two more Type 45s and we have a bid on the table with the Ministry of Defence to make a class of eight ships. That would reinforce our position."

He added: "The successes we have had in the construction of Daring and the improvements we are delivering on the subsequent ships demonstrate that the Clyde is still the natural home of warship building in the UK."

On board, there is more recreational space for the crew, including the first purpose built fitness centre.

Large mess decks have been replaced by smaller cabins and instead of having to write home all crew will have an internet connection above their bunk.

HMS Daring was launched on the Clyde to cheers from onlookers

Mr Reid said it was a proud day for the Royal Navy.

He added: "Part of the deal is that in reducing the number of warships, that we make them more capable than ever before and this is an example, it's part of the biggest building programme we've had for decades.

"I'm delighted also for the workers on the Clyde because six years ago a lot of people had written them off.

"To see them producing this on spec, on time and on budget is a delight to me.

"And finally, if we salute, as we do, the courage and endurance of our service men and women, we have to make every effort to make sure they get the equipment as well as the training necessary to enhance their battle-winning capabilities and that's what this does."

HMS Daring will now move a few hundred yards down river to a dry dock where the remainder of the work will be carried out.

The vessel will be the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the Daring name.

The £5.5bn Type 45 programme was ordered by the Ministry of Defence. The six vessels - HMS Dauntless, Daring, Diamond, Defender, Dragon and Duncan - are all due to be launched from the Clyde.