Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless has arrived in the Middle East to continue the Royal Navy’s unwavering fight against terrorism and piracy.
The Portsmouth-based warship will spend the next four months in the Gulf region, dividing her time between the international effort to prevent piracy and drugs trafficking and joining the carrier strike group of the USS Carl Vinson.
Since leaving Portsmouth between Christmas and the new year, the Type 45 destroyer has been flashing up all her systems and keeping the 200 sailors and Royal Marines on board fully trained.
They have carried out practice shoots involving her Phalanx automated Gatling gun, board and search work-outs for her Lynx helicopter and commando/Navy boarding team as well as conducting a Replenishment at Sea with the US Navy’s tanker Charles Drew.
In her role supporting the 30 nation Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the destroyer will work alongside regional allies and other international organisation to carry out security patrols and stop criminals from using the seas for illegal activities like drug smuggling.
Dauntless will also conduct a period of time operating as a fully integrated part of the US Navy’s Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group.
Image: Royal Navy