VT Shipbuilding completed its construction work on the Royal Navy’s first-of-class Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring with delivery of the foremast to BAE Systems Naval Ships in Glasgow.
The 89-tons steel structure was lifted onto a barge at VT’s Portsmouth Shipbuilding Facility and towed over 600 nautical miles by tug, completing the transit in just over four days.
The foremast was then transferred directly to
HMS Daring where fitting out will be completed. The major element of the foremast is to house the Sampson multi-function radar suite, which will be linked to the ship’s Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS).
VT has already installed some 12,000 m of cable inside the 19 m high mast, with 800 different cables and 400 pipes included in the structure.
It is the third foremast that VT has built for the Type 45 destroyer programme following previous structures delivered to BAE Systems’ Maritime Support Integration Center (MISC) at Portsdown Hill, near Portsmouth, and test facility on the Isle of Wight where the Sampson radar is being developed.
VT Shipbuilding is building the bow sections, funnels and main masts of the six Daring Class ships so far ordered.