According to information published by the UK MoD on November 3, 2022, HMS Defender operated closely with the Greek and US navies as the destroyer’s deployment gathered pace in the Eastern Mediterranean.
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Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender, Piraeus, Greece. (Picture source: UK MoD)
Type 45 is deployed with the Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Group (North), an amphibious task force led by HMS Albion with more than 1,000 Royal Marines and sailors.
The task group includes support ships RFA Argus and RFA Mounts Bay, as well as Wildcat and Merlin helicopters.
It is designed to react to emerging crises in European waters, and work closely with NATO allies and partners, in an area vital to UK security and prosperity.
Defender left her home of Portsmouth in mid-September and has visited Spain, Italy and Crete before sailing for the Greek port of Piraeus to forge bonds with her Hellenic colleagues.
The Royal Navy’s fifth Type 45 hosted local children’s charities and cadets from the nearby naval academy, and welcomed Greek dignitaries on board for demonstrations of the advanced destroyer’s capabilities.
Defender followed up the port visit by working with Greek frigate HS Elli, training in surface and electronic warfare, as well as air defence, an area the Type 45 is specially designed and equipped for.
Earlier in the deployment, Defender sailors spent time on the USS George HW Bush, as the two warships met in Crete's Souda Bay during respective deployments in the region.
As one of the world's most powerful warships, Defender tested her air defence capability during an exercise with F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from the George HW Bush.
Defender controlled some of the F/A-18s during the exercise with her Fighter Controllers, demonstrating the ability to work seamlessly with a close NATO ally.
About the destroyer
The Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender is 152.4 m in length, with a beam of 21.2 m, a draught of 7.4 m, and a displacement of approximately 8,500 tons. She can reach a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).
The ship is equipped with the Sea Viper (PAAMS) air-defense system utilizing the SAMPSON active electronically scanned array multi-function radar and the S1850M long-range radar.
PAAMS is able to 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.
