A blinding flash of fire announces the moment the fifth of the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers is ready to take her place in the line of battle.Leaving its launcher on the forecastle of HMS Defender is Sea Viper – the Royal Navy’s principal shield against air attack.Seconds after bursting free from its silo, the 310kg (683lb) missile was hurtling through the Atlantic skies at nearly four times the speed of sound.
Its prey was a Mirach drone – a 13ft remote-controlled jet which flies at speeds of up to of 530kts (more than 600mph) from altitudes as low as 10ft or as high as 40,000ft.
The Sea Viper system is a quantum leap forward from the Sea Dart missile on the now-decommissioned class of Type 42 destroyers Defender and her sisters have replaced.The Sampson radar system on top of the ship’s main mast can track hundreds of contacts in the skies up to 250 miles away.
And the Sea Viper itself can intercept incoming targets at ranges up to 20 and 75 miles depending on which version is used, manoeuvring for the kill at G Forces no human could endure.The combination of the radar and missile mean Defender can engage a large number of targets simultaneously – and defend aircraft carriers or task groups – against current and future threats from the air.HMS Defender is now returning to Portsmouth to undertake a short period of maintenance and some well-earned leave for her sailors, before departing the UK on her first operational deployment.The sixth and final Type 45 destroyer, HMS Duncan, is undergoing training ahead of her first Sea Viper firing and maiden deployment.
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