The UK Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless has joined the international military operation against Islamic State (IS), as part of efforts to defend the US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Gulf.
With its latest deployment, the Portsmouth-based warship has assumed the duties of HMS Defender.
HMS Dauntless commanding officer commander Adrian Fryer said: "HMS Dauntless was designed to protect an aircraft carrier against threats from the air.
"Along with our fellow Royal Navy warship HMS Kent, which is supporting the French Navy’s aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle in the Middle East, our support to carrier strike operations against ISIL (IS) reaffirms the UK’s commitment to combat terrorism."
The vessel’s air defence radar and advanced Sea Viper missile system will help protect the strike group from airborne threats.
Commissioned in June 2010, HMS Dauntless is a multirole, general-purpose platform aimed at defending multiple assets in an air-threat environment and can be used in both traditional and littoral environments.
Capable of accommodating 700 crew members to support a civilian evacuation from war zones or natural disasters, the vessel is armed with an anti-air missile system, as well as Sampson multifunction radar and Sea Viper anti-air missiles.
Image: HMS Dauntless (far left) with the US carrier strike group. Photo: courtesy of the UK Royal Navy.
