HMS Dragon (D35)

HMS Dragon is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defence destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in November 2008 and commissioned on 20 April, 2012.

Operational history
Dragon's construction began at the then BAE Systems Naval Ships (later BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions) yard at Scotstoun on the River Clyde in December 2005, and by December 2007 the bow section was in place on the Govan slipway for mating with the other modules. Dragon launched from the slipway at Govan on 17 November 2008 at 3:00pm. Her sponsor is Mrs. Susie Boissier, wife of Vice Admiral Paul Boissier, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet and Chief of Staff. She will be fitted out at Scotstoun.

HMS Dragon commenced her first set of contractor's sea trials on 5 November 2010.

Recent service
HMS Dragon joined the Royal Navy Surface Fleet on Friday, 20 April 2012. On Friday 27 April she made her maiden visit to Liverpool, staying for three days. She was opened to the public on Saturday 28 April, with visitors able to see the inside of the ship, including the operations room.

In August 2013, it was reported that Dragon was sailing with the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) carrier group in the Arabian Sea, acting as the main point ship for aircraft control. In August 2013, several Typhoons from No. 6 Squadron RAF were exercising with Dragon and US fighters in the Gulf. It has sailed westwards to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Advanced air-defence
The Type 45 destroyers are primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare with the capability to defend against aircraft, drones as well as supersonic sea skimming anti-ship missiles. The Royal Navy describes the destroyer's mission as "to shield the Fleet from air attack". The Type 45 destroyer uses the sophisticated Sea Viper air-defence system utilizing the SAMPSON active electronically scanned array multi-function air tracking radar, and the S1850M long-range air surveillance radar. The Sea Viper system is able to control and coordinate several missiles in the air at once, allowing several tracks to be intercepted. It has been suggested that the SAMPSON radar is capable of tracking an object the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound. A core component of the Type 45's Sea Viper air-defence system is the Aster missile, composing of the Aster 15 and Aster 30. MBDA describes Aster as an anti-missile missile capable of intercepting all types of high-performance air threats at a maximum range of 120 km (Aster 30). The Aster missile is autonomously guided and equipped with an active RF seeker enabling it to cope with "saturated attacks" thanks to a "Multiple engagement capability" and a "high rate of fire". Presently the Daring-class destroyers are equipped with a 48-cell A50 Sylver Vertical Launching System allowing for a mix of up to 48 Aster 15 and 30 missiles. However, the Type 45 destroyer was designed to accommodate a total of 64-cells, while some reports suggest a total of 72-cells.

Affiliations
The Royal Thames Yacht Club
 * Cardiff, Wales
 * The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers
 * The Welsh Livery Guild
 * Royal Navy recognised Sea Scout Groups of Barry Scout District