Royal Navy Destroyers Delayed by Weapons Hitches, Crew Shortage

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Britain’s new Type 45 warships, built by BAE Systems Plc and VT Group Plc, may not be ready to join the Royal Navy until next year because of hitches with weaponry and a lack of sailors trained to crew the vessels.

HMS Daring, the first of six destroyers, may miss its scheduled service entry in December, Britain’s National Audit Office said in a report today. The ship is already three years late after cost overruns prompted a review of the budget.

While the Ministry of Defence always planned to arm the fleet in stages, there are potential problems with the integration of the Sea Viper anti-air missile system, the report said. The main role of the new destroyers is to defend Royal Navy ships against enemy aircraft and missiles. All six vessels had been due to enter service by 2013.

“The fleet of Type 45s will not have their full capability until the middle of the next decade, when other important pieces of kit are fitted,” Edward Leigh, chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, said in a letter accompanying the report. “In the meantime, the Navy will be left struggling to keep in service the existing Type 42 destroyers that were designed and built for the Cold War.”

The MoD said in a statement that key milestones on the project, including sea trials, were actually met ahead of schedule and that four of the ships are now in the water.

Sea Viper has been tested on firing ranges from a barge off the southern coast of France, though not on the Daring itself. The system won’t be operational on the destroyer until 2011. Other equipment yet to be installed includes the Skynet 5 and Bowman communications systems.

Naval Links

Another delayed feature, known as co-operative engagement capability, is designed to link the combat systems and sensors of Royal Navy destroyers with ships of allied navies, especially the U.S. The technology is still under development and won’t be installed until 2014.

The Type 45 program has encountered a series of setbacks and cost overruns, with the price tag jumping to 6.5 billion pounds ($9 billion) from 5 billion pounds.

The vessels are being developed by the BVT Surface Fleet Ltd. venture, formed last July by BAE, Europe’s biggest defense contractor, and VT, which plans to exit shipbuilding and sell its 45 percent stake to its larger partner. The deal, approved by the defense ministry, will raise a minimum of 380 million pounds for VT and will be completed by July 1.