Progress is not an accident, but a necessity. The response to the development of air attack weapons was the emergence of specialized air defense ships. The first representative of this class was solemnly launched to the sound of bagpipes on February 1, 2006. It was the destroyer of Her Majesty's fleet HMS Daring - the lead in the Type 45 Air Defense Destroyer series - ships designed to organize an air defense system of an operational formation of the Navy.
"Daring" was created according to the concept of intellectual war: "the winner is not the one who has more missiles, but the one who first detects the enemy." At the heart of the destroyer's weapons complex is the Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS), which includes a SAMPSON multifunctional radar, an S1850M three-coordinate early warning radar and a SYLVER A-50 VLS vertical launcher.
The SAMPSON shipborne radar performs the functions of surveillance, target recognition and control on the cruising section of the trajectory for anti-aircraft missiles of the Aster family. The effective detection range of air targets at high altitudes is up to 400 km. It is reported that the radar, under good radio wave propagation conditions, is capable of detecting a pigeon (EPR = 0, 008 m²) at a distance of 100 km.
Unlike American AN / SPY-1 radars, SAMPSON consists of two flat phased array antennas mounted on a rotating platform. Each array contains 2560 gallium arsenide emitting elements with a power of 10 watts each. The emitting elements are grouped into 640 transceiver modules, each of which has its own signal controller (64 signal gradations in phase and amplitude), as well as a microcircuit for communication with a central computer, which makes it possible to program each emitting element. Data transmission is carried out over a fiber-optic network at a speed of 12 Gbps. The mass of the antenna post is 4, 6 tons, the rotation speed is 60 rpm.
The S1850 is a three-dimensional long-range aerial vision and early warning radar with an active phased array. It is capable of automatically detecting and initiating tracking of up to 1000 targets within a radius of 400 km. Antenna post weight 6 tons, rotation frequency 12 rpm.
The SYLVER (FR. SYstème de Lancement VERtical) shipborne vertical missile launcher was developed by the French company DCNS. The Daring-class destroyers are equipped with the A-50 model air defense missile, designed to accommodate 48 Aster-15 and Aster-30 anti-aircraft missiles in any combination. Self-defense missiles Aster-15 hit targets at a distance of about 16 miles, long-range missiles Aster-30 up to 65 miles. The hatches of the cells and the deck plate of the SYLVER UVP are armored and sealed. The time required to launch eight missiles is 10 seconds, the reload time of the installation for 8 cells is 90 minutes.
In addition to the PAAMS system, Daring's armament includes a 4.5-inch Mark-8 naval artillery mount, 2 Falanx self-defense systems, and several 30 mm Oerlikon automatic cannons. The destroyer is equipped with a helicopter hangar and a flight deck capable of receiving Lynx and Merlin-class helicopters. The ship's special capabilities include a hospital and a command post for naval operations.
Stealth technology is widely used in the design of Daring-class destroyers. The SAMPSON radar is equipped with a heat exchanger installed inside the mast. Artificial cooling of the radar reduces the heat signature of the destroyer.
The crew of the ship, with a total displacement of 8000 tons, consists of only 190 people. Small cabins and other spaces have taken the place of huge and often haphazardly planned decks, and the sailors no longer have to look for paper and pen to write a letter home: each of them has a computer above the bunk with Internet access.
According to the Sunday Times, plans are being considered to host the 2012 Daring at the Thames estuary for the London Olympics. If necessary, the ship's armament will be able to shoot down all planes and aircraft unauthorized approaching the British capital during the Games, which will make it impossible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, to be repeated in the British capital.
The next ships of the Dontles and Diamond series, which left the stocks in 2007, will reach combat readiness by 2012. Currently, the Dragon, built in 2008, is undergoing sea trials. "Defender" and "Dankon" are preparing to launch. All six Type 45 destroyers, to which the Daring belongs, will replace the previous generation, Type 42 destroyers, which have been in service since the early 1970s. The new ships are expected to be in service until the 40s of this century.
