01-28-2009, 11:59 PM
For Information about the cost of "Defence" Equipment :
<b>Newest warship arrives in home port</b>
<b>The Royal Navy's newest warship, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>built at a cost of £650 million*, has sailed into its home port for the first time.</span></b>
HMS Daring, the world's most advanced destroyer, was officially handed over to the Navy last month after work was completed at the BVT Surface Fleet's Scotstoun shipyard on the Clyde, Scotland.
The 7,350-tonne ship will be the first of the Royal Navy's series of six Type 45 destroyers.
Daring was met at Portsmouth Naval Base, Hampshire, by a 15-gun salute as well as by families and friends of the ship's company.
Hundreds of members of public also lined the harbour walls to welcome the ship.
The ship features the latest propulsion, anti-aircraft weapon and stealth technology.
The Type 45 destroyers have nearly twice the range - about 7,000 miles - and are 45 per cent more fuel-efficient than the Type 42 destroyers they are replacing in the £6 billion project.
It is capable of sailing 3,000 nautical miles, operating for three days and returning home without the need to refuel.
The ships are to be armed with a new hi-tech missile system renamed as the Sea Viper, formerly known as the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (Paams).
The Sea Viper system, in conjunction with the ship's Sampson Radar system, is capable of tracking hundreds of targets as far as 250 miles away and engaging up to ten of them simultaneously.
Daring can operate various helicopters, including the Chinook, embark 60 Royal Marines and is able to accommodate up to 700 people as part of an emergency evacuation.
It has a crew of 191 and generates enough electricity from its gas and diesel engines to power a city the size of Leicester.
Daring was launched from BVT's facility in Scotstoun by the Countess of Wessex in January 2006.
Since then it has undergone three sets of contractor sea trials.
It will now undertake an intensive sea trials programme for the rest of the year, with a formal commissioning ceremony due to take place in the summer with a target of formal acceptance into service by late 2010.
<b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>* :</span></b> Thats a cool Billion U S Dollars.
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->