HMS Diamond (D34)
HMS Diamond in 2016
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Diamond |
Ordered | 20 December 2000[5] |
Builder | BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions |
Yard number | 1063[4] |
Laid down | 25 February 2005 |
Launched | 27 November 2007 |
Sponsored by | Lady Johns |
Commissioned | 6 May 2011[6] |
Identification |
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Motto |
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Nickname(s) | "The Jewel in the Naval Crown" |
Status | In active service |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Guided missile destroyer |
Displacement | 8,000[8] to 8,500 t (8,400 long tons; 9,400 short tons)[9][10][11] |
Length | 152.4 m (500 ft 0 in) |
Beam | 21.2 m (69 ft 7 in) |
Draught | 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) |
Installed power | |
Propulsion |
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Speed | In excess of 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)[7] |
Range | In excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 18 kn (33 km/h)[7] |
Complement | 191[14] (accommodation for up to 235) |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried |
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Aviation facilities |
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HMS Diamond is the third ship of the
It is equipped with a SAMPSON active electronically scanned array multi-function radar system that allows the Diamond to track 2,000 threats from over 250 miles away, a Sea Viper missile system that can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and can guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously, a Wildcat HMA2 helicopter with Martlet air-to-surface missiles, and a 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun.
In December 2023, Diamond shot down a suspected
Construction and sea trials
Diamond's construction began at the
By July 2010, Diamond had been fully fitted out and finished her contractors' sea trials (stage 1 trials). She arrived in her base port of HMNB Portsmouth on 22 September 2010.[38][39][40]
Operational service
2011–19
Diamond was commissioned in a traditional ceremony on 6 May 2011 in her home port of Portsmouth. The ceremony was attended by the ship's sponsor and the Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Trevor Soar.[41] Diamond continued undergoing sea trials until she entered operational service in July 2011 after the completion of her trials. The ship conducted operational training before beginning her first overseas deployment.[40] Diamond began her deployment in the summer of 2012,[42] starting with celebrations to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[43]
Diamond was in the
On 8 May 2017, Diamond performed a demonstration firing of an
On 4 September 2017, Diamond sailed for a 9-month deployment to the Middle East. Initially scheduled to relieve HMS Monmouth,[46] she was diverted to take over as the flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 from sister-ship HMS Duncan when her intended relief, HMS Ocean was redeployed to provide relief to British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Irma.[47]
Diamond was relieved of her
2020–present
On 10 April 2021, Diamond left Portsmouth to conduct a 41-
In 2021, the ship initially deployed to the Far East as part of the UK carrier strike group centred on aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. She detached from the group for repairs in July. due to reported "technical issues" likely linked to longstanding power and propulsion reliability issues with ships of the class.[52] It was later reported that the ship had "suffered a failure of one of her gas turbines".[53] Repairs were undertaken in Taranto, Italy. At the end of August, Diamond returned to sea to rejoin the group.[54] In mid-October 2021, after rejoining the strike group, the destroyer again experienced "technical issues", this time reportedly not related to her propulsion system and a decision was made to dock in Singapore to have them addressed.[55]
In September 2023, Diamond, with a
On the night of 15 December 2023, Diamond shot down a suspected
After resupply HMS Diamond then returned to the Red Sea, including providing escort to the ships of Littoral Response Group South as they deployed to the Indian Ocean.[74] She then resumed her role in protection of merchant shipping in the region. On 24 April 2024, Diamond defended the American container ship MV Maersk Yorktown and shot down a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile. This was the first ballistic missile kill for the Sea Viper air defence system and the first Royal Navy missile-to-missile interception in combat since the Gulf War.[75]
Characteristics
Diamond is primarily designed for
The ship's SAMPSON active electronically scanned array multi-function radar system allows the Diamond to track threats from over 250 miles away, and to guide friendly missiles.[77] It can track over 2,000 targets and simultaneously control and coordinate multiple missiles in the air at once, allowing a large number of tracks to be intercepted and destroyed at any given time. The US Naval War College has suggested that the SAMPSON radar is capable of tracking 1,000 objects the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound (Mach 3), emphasising the system's capabilities against high-performance stealth targets.[76] This makes it particularly difficult to swamp the system during a saturation attack, even if the attacking elements are supersonic.[78]
The ship's Sea Viper missile system can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds, and can guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously.[77] MBDA describes Aster as a "hit-to-kill" anti-missile missile capable of intercepting all types of high-performance air threats at a maximum range of 120 km.[79] 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".[79]
Diamond also carries a Wildcat helicopter with Martlet air-to-surface missiles.[77] It is armed with a 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun, as well as sophisticated electronics.[77]
Affiliations
Ship's sponsor
- Lady Johns, wife of Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Johns KCB, CBE RN[80]
Official affiliations
- Aberdeen City Council[80]
- City of Coventry[80]
- The Worshipful Company of Barbers[80]
- The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards[citation needed]
- No. 3 Squadron RAF[80]
- De Beers (UK)[80]
- Loughborough Grammar School[80] Naval Section CCF (Combined Cadet Force)
Other
As part of her affiliation with Coventry, Diamond carries a
The
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