HMS Duncan’s entry into service marks the end of a 13-year build program to provide Britain with a fleet of anti-air destroyers to replace the old Type 42 vessels, the last of which, HMS Edinburgh, was decommissioned in the summer of 2013.
The 7,500-ton warship was commissioned in September and will be based at Portsmouth along with the other vessels of its class. All of the warships were built by BAE Systems.
The first of class, HMS Daring, entered service in mid-2009. Originally, the British intended to purchase 12 destroyers but whittled the number down as costs rose and requirements changed.
The entry into service of HMS Duncan brings the Royal Navy’s surface combat fleet up to its full strength of 19 warships — Six Type 45s and 13 Type 23 frigates.
The Type 23s will be gradually replaced by the Type 26 frigate. Design work on that warship is already well advanced and a decision on building the first of the new warships is scheduled for 2016.
The government said it will place a first order with BAE covering eight Type 26s. The MoD remains committed to a fleet of 13 frigates for the time being but the actual number has been clouded slightly by a recent order of three offshore patrol boats capable of operating a Merlin helicopter.
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