HMS Duncan has joined HMS Prince of Wales in northern waters as the carrier strike group prepares for NATO Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 tasking, the UK Defence Journal understands.

The destroyer confirmed its arrival via social media, stating the ship was “keeping watch in the northern seas” and providing protection to the carrier as the group readies for future operations. HMS Duncan is the fourth of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers and had been undergoing maintenance before joining the current deployment.

HMS Prince of Wales departed Scotland earlier, leaving the Glen Mallan jetty in Loch Long after spending the bank holiday weekend loading ammunition and supplies. The carrier is accompanied by RFA Tidespring and will exercise with NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force partners throughout the deployment.

The group is scheduled to conduct Exercise Tamber Shield in the fjords near Bergen, focusing on swarm attack drills involving Wildcat helicopters of 815 Naval Air Squadron, P2000 patrol boats, and Norwegian missile craft. The exercise is designed to develop the tactics required to defend high-value assets against small, fast-manoeuvrable threats in confined waters.

The group will then move to the High North for Dynamic Mongoose, NATO’s primary anti-submarine warfare exercise in Northern Europe, before taking up SNMG1 duties. SNMG1 is one of NATO’s two standing naval forces in the Atlantic, maintained on permanent readiness to respond to crises and conduct exercises with alliance members. Vessels rotate in and out of the group on a rolling basis, with the UK a regular contributor.

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The Type 45 destroyer is the Royal Navy’s primary surface air defence platform, displacing around 8,000 tonnes and stretching 152 metres in length. Each ship is powered by an integrated electric propulsion system drawing on two Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines, giving a top speed in excess of 30 knots and a range of over 7,000 nautical miles at 18 knots. The class carries a complement of 191, with accommodation for up to 235.

The Type 45’s principal weapon system is the Principal Anti-Air Missile System, which draws on 48 Sylver A50 vertical launch cells capable of firing both Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, covering targets at ranges from under two kilometres to beyond 100 kilometres. The ship’s sensor suite centres on the SAMPSON multi-function active electronically scanned array radar and the S1850M long-range air surveillance radar, providing simultaneous tracking of hundreds of targets.

For close-in defence the class carries two 20mm Phalanx close-in weapon systems, a 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun, and two DS30B 30mm cannons. Each ship can also operate Wildcat or Merlin helicopters from its flight deck and enclosed hangar.

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44 COMMENTS

  1. “HMS Duncan is the fourth of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers” – Which two come after D37? Cut n pasted from an article about HMS Dragon?

    • Oh no a typo!!!!!! We are doomed, doomed, don’t panic Mr B we will get through this one way or another.

          • And you think someone else will do better? The Labour Party was always likely to implode. Even a good result at the next General Election would likely see them lose >50 seats and still retain a majority. Those people were always likely to moan. This simply adds a load of unwanted uncertainty which detracts from getting anything done.
            Unfortunately Welfare, Heath and Education will always score higher than Defence. The vast majority of the pubic have never heard of the DIP. Unfortunately, again, it will take something dramatic to change things.

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            • I’m afraid that most of the other candidates will be worse as most of the PLP is to the left of STARMITE.

          • Of course it’s all the fault of Kier Starmer, are you a left wing Labour MP by any chance? Or A Daily Mail l telegraph “reporter” I I have a hard time telling them apart these days.

            • Assume that comment not aimed at me. In case it was, no I am not an MP and spent my yuff pounding the streets for one Margaret Thatcher. Oh, and I do not read the Telegraph or the Daly Mail, though my Mum did.

          • Great idea, I was getting fed up of all the boring stability of the past two years.

            Let’s go back to musical chairs at number 10. That’s definitely the best way to fix defence.

            While we at it let’s jack up interest rates 😀

            • It is easy to be stable: when stability = not making any controversial decisions or facing anyone off.

              Once Starmite had been faced off over his timid benefit cuts it was clear nothing was going to happen.

              Then he was humiliated by the inability of RN or RFA to respond to the Cyprus situation because everything is set to ‘conserve cash max’ to try and get through the round of cuts as none of the new money has actually arrived and what has arrived is simply double counted.

            • Did you enjoy all the terrorist on the streets of the UK . Supporting Hamas Iran etc just being allowed to get away with being in banned groups etc. Whilst pro British people get battoned and charged with horses for doing the same and all being branded far-right. Even elderly men and women.

        • Oh yes he should resign … After all he should have hand built three T45s himself, whilst the rest of the cabinet really should have got stuck in completing the T26s and then all would be well.

          Maybe you should offer your good self to get the 31s in the water?

          What a …….. comment.

          • I agree, you can blame Starmar for many things (most of them pretty minor) but certainly not the current state of the RN. The guys not be in the job long enough to have any kind of impact and even the delay in the DIP won’t have any bearing on the navy for ten to 15 years.

            The British electorate and the Parliament they have appointed has increasingly become like Turkeys voting for Christmas all the time. People need to start realising it’s the mainstream media and its love of the free news cycle caused by musical chairs that’s causing most of this and if people keep falling for every snake oil sales man offering simple solutions to problems then the country is f**ked.

            The reality is we have few major problems and the problems that we don’t have like Russia, productivity, immigration, potholes and the NHS are very nuanced and hard to solve (if they can even be solved)

            The understanding of most of these problems is beyond the average voter and the solutions to them far in excess of the average populist ability to deal with.

            One only has to look at the green and reform councils falling flat on their face on day one to see that.

            Voters need to start taking responsibility for their own actions.

            • Agreed in full and the voters knew what they were getting when they voted Starmer in and with a very large majority too ,sure , dull and boring perhaps but a man of integrity and steady too for which he is highly respected on the international stage if perhaps not so.much
              at home – this not helped of course by a populist media who from day one have been hell bent on bringing him down . We have become a laughing stock for F*cks sake having seven PM’s already over the past ten years I for one don’t want to have to serve under yet another unelected PM. Anyway sorry to be boring but back to the story . I for one think it’s very good news that we have been able to deploy such a capable warship to escort our carrier on a high end mission and without being totally dependant on our NATO friends. This of course while at the same time having a second , HMS Dragon concurrently deployed on another high end mission ito the Gulf.

                • You clearly didn’t read my post , I specifically stated on the ‘ International stage’ . I come on here because it’s supposed to be a forum focused on Defence and specifically UK Defence. If you want to constantly deviate from the subject of the thread and bleat on about internal domestic political affairs there are plenty of blogs devoted to that or alternatively I suggest you immerse yourself in GB News . Can we just not cut the politics cr*p ? I refer again to my concluding comments , I still think it very good news that we are still able to deploy two high end T45 destroyers concurrently but on two very different , geographically afar but critical tasks. Also that we are still able to deploy our duty Carrier to a high threat theatre with our own AAW escort and without being totally reliant on our European NATO friends . I do however agree it would be nice if we had also deployed a T23.

                  • To be fair you were the one who started to talk up a a PM that has been wildly dishonest with the people of the UK. Like the whole country i was disagreeing with that. But yes i agree it was good we could get the carrier out with escort. Proveing that we dont just have 1 ship like the world thought. Yes there also should havr been a type 23.

            • Just to confirm Jim. My comment that triggered this was total sarcasm. I don’t think Starmer should resign over a typo.

        • Unless they have a NATO ASW asset with them, then the Merlin airwing is the only ASW asset POW has. There is no Astute class with them. Anson has just got into Gib having driven the long way round Africa as she didn’t transit the Suez.
          POW will pick up futher ASW assets when she teams up with SNMG1 if she hasn’t already done so.

          • I thought it was standard in the RN that our hunter killers didn’t escort Carriers anyway mate?
            Or has that changed?
            Hunter Killers, I prefer them off alone to do their thing.

            • They dont normally, only really on long deployments like CSG to the Pacific. Anything in the NA usually has an SSN deployed in the high north on other ops, sharing intel so to speak.
              Unfortunately due to various reasons starting and ending with the word ‘finances’, we are on the bones of our collective arses wrt SSN availability. Its going to be an interesting 3-4th quarter of 2026 when Anson gets back for some much needed tlc. The cupboard will be bare methinks.

            • Oh dear show me that you’re so utterly stupid that you don’t think an ASW Carrier can perform ASW in an exercise.

              Next you’ll be complaining when a Type 45 is sent on an AAW exercise without anything to protect it from an air-attack… 😂🤣😂🤣😂

              • what’s going to detect the sub surface threat – or are you proposing on having the rotary assets in the air 24 hours a day? It’s obvious you’ve never served

                • It’s obvious you’re detached from reality.
                  (a) It’s a NATO not a RN exercise, there will be ASW frigates present from those nations that want to exercise those assets. The RN is exercising its Merlins.
                  (b) It’s an exercise not combat.

                  We thank you for years of service as a lollipop man 🚸

  3. Jesus H Trump… just look at all the bitching.

    And we’re not even close to happy hour 😁🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

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