a day ago
Our lame-duck £1BILLION destroyer that won't be heading over to help Kyiv... due to its record
While British warships are poised to defend Ukrainian waters a £1billion destroyer has been ruled out due to its maintenance record.
HMS Daring has spent more time being repaired and worked on than it has at sea, according to independent analysis.
A respected social media account which reports on UK ships said the vessel had spent more than eight years out of service, a total of more than 3,000 days.
The next longest absent ship is the Astute-Class submarine HMS Ambush, which has not been used in just over three years.
HMS Daring is not expected to report for duty before the end of 2026. It is currently being refitted.
Six Type 45 destroyers, known as Daring Class, replaced the Royal Navy's Sheffield-Class destroyers which served in the Falklands War.
The warships are primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare.
At the Royal Navy's peak in 1945 there were over 800 destroyers and frigates in its fleet.
A 2009 Ministry of Defence report stated that the warships cost more than one billion pounds each to build, including the research and development.
HMS Daring's worst problems have been associated with its propulsion systems. All Daring-class ships are expected to be upgraded by 2028.
It is hoped that all Daring-class ships will be fully upgraded by 2028.
HMS Daring was originally removed from service in April 2017, with the Covid-19 pandemic causing several delays.
She was taken to Merseyside for work before returning to Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 2023, but remains in the trial phase and unable to operate.
A naval expert posting on X as Britsky said HMS Daring's problems showed the 'severe issues' facing the Royal Navy.
He told the Portsmouth News: 'It's not just one issue for HMS Daring, it's many compounding issues over years and years.
'A shortage of personnel is making it hard to crew ships, there's a lack of support infrastructure such as docks delaying work and an insufficient stock of parts meaning ships can't be kept operational and others are robbed for parts.
On Tuesday the Royal Navy said: 'We do not comment on the material state of our ships. The Royal Navy continues to fulfil all of its operational commitments.'
