Royal Navy warship Defender, the fifth of six Type 45 destroyers built by BAE Systems on the River Clyde in Glasgow, will berth at Northumbria Quay this weekend (Feb 15-18), the ship’s first visit to a non-naval port.
Defender is due to be commissioned into the Royal Navy at the end of March at Portsmouth Naval Base, when she will become Her Majesty’s Ship Defender.
Her visit precedes by a week the arrival into North Shields of sister ship HMS Dauntless, the Type 45 which is affiliated to Newcastle.
Dauntless will be alongside for five days and, unlike Defender, will be open to visit by the general public.
Defender has been undergoing a period of intensive trials and training off the south coast in preparation for future deployments.
Over the weekend the ship will play host to local defence industry leaders, three local cadet groups, the Tyneside branch of the Royal Naval Association and a group of college students studying the uniformed services. She will also welcome a group of battle space managers from RAF Boulmer.
Commander Philip Nash, Commanding Officer of Defender , said:
“It is a real honour to be able to bring this fine ship of ours to a port away from home for the first time.
“My ship’s company have been working exceptionally hard, training and trialling the wide range of state of the art weapons and sensors we have onboard.
“Shortly we will be accepted into service for frontline operations and will deploy around the world, wherever we are needed.
“We all look forward to being able to engage with the people of North Shields over the weekend and proudly show off this ship, a key element of the Royal Navy’s future fleet.”
The following video shows HMS Defender departing for first sea trials on the Clyde.
HMS Defender is the fifth of the Navy’s six £1bn Type 45 destroyers – Defender was built in Glasgow which is one of her two affiliated cities (the other is Exeter). After delivery to her home port of Portsmouth in July 2012 she is now undergoing extensive Sea Trials and Training and is expected to join the Fleet early this year. [mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 13, 2013; Image: Royal Navy