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Britain’s final Type 45 destroyer fired up her guns for the first time with sustained period of shooting off the Dorset gun. Every one of the Portsmouth-based warship guns was fired – from her hand-held General Purpose Machine-Guns and Miniguns, through the 30mm automated cannon and the main 4.5in which can hurl a 40kg high-explosive shell more than a dozen miles.

Over the past few weeks Britain’s sixth and final Type 45 destroyer has been testing her advanced gunnery systems off the Dorset coast – the first occasion when she’s truly proven she’s a warship.

Every one of the Portsmouth-based warship’s guns was fired from her hand-held General Purpose Machine-Guns and Miniguns, through the 30mm automated cannon and the ‘crowdpleaser’, Duncan’s 4.5in main gun which can hurl a 40kg high-explosive shell more than a dozen miles.

After arriving in her home base for the first time in March and commissioning in September, Duncan – named after the Scottish admiral who decisively beat the Dutch Fleet at Camperdown in 1797 – has been preparing to join her five sisters on the front-line.

The first four Type 45s have carried out deployments – twice in the case of HMS Daring – while HMS Defender is due to sail on operations for the first time next year.

Key to any of those deployments is the ability of the guns to provide accurate and effective firepower – hence several days on the ranges in the Channel for what’s known as Sea Acceptance Trials (Gunnery).

In Duncan’s spacious, hi-tech operations room Lt Tuijo ‘TJ’ Thompson – a Royal New Zealand Navy officer on exchange – the ship’s principal warfare officer took charge, ensuring the destroyer was is in a safe position to operate the weaponry and fire it at selected targets.

In support of any firings by the 4.5in ‘Kryten’ (so named for its angular casing resembles the Red Dwarf character of the same name) PO ‘Daz’ Hickling, the captain of the turret, sat in the gunbay beneath the weapon overseeing the safe loading and operation of the main gun as it hammered away.

Duncan was making use of the ranges off Weymouth, run by 148 Battery Royal Artillery, an Army Commando unit who help to target the guns of the Fleet in times of war such as Libya and Iraq.

 “They were very impressed by the ship’s display of Naval Gunfire Support, stating it was the best they had seen in years – not bad for Duncan’s first effort under the White Ensign,” said Cdr James Stride, the destroyer’s Commanding Officer.

The 30mm cannon shoot proved particularly successful – Duncan became the first Type 45 destroyer to successfully engage an aerial towed target.

Just for good measure, the machine-guns and Minigun (a manually-operated Gatling Gun) were flashed up under the supervision of experienced gunner PO(AWW) Jamie Phillips.

 “By proving that her various guns work as they were designed to do, Duncan will now be able to go on to support operations worldwide by providing Naval Gunfire Support to forces ashore, engaging surface targets that pose a threat, and play a part in defending the ship from air attack,” Cdr Stride added.

Press Release, November 12, 2013; Image: Royal Navy

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HMAS Labuan, operating within an Australian led multi-national Task Force in Solomon Islands as part of Operation RENDER SAFE 13, has spent the past week working with local communities on Tulagi Island to identify the unexploded ordnance that is a legacy of Tulagi’s World War II role as a Japanese naval refueling, communications, and seaplane reconnaissance base.

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Maritime forces from the United States, 10 East African and two European nations, along with several international organizations, commenced the multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express 2013, Nov. 11.

Exercise Cutlass Express 2013, held in several operational areas in waters off East Africa, is an at-sea maritime exercise designed to improve cooperation, tactical expertise and information sharing practices among participating nations in order to increase maritime safety and security in the region.

The week-long exercise will take place in the vicinity of four different naval hubs: Mombasa, Kenya; Djibouti, Djibouti; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Port Victoria, Seychelles. The exercise will feature in-port phase activities before practicing naval concepts at sea.

“We want to continue to make the waters off East Africa a safer place, and that’s what you’re here to do,” said Capt. Guy Jackson, Cutlass Express 2013 Exercise Director, in remarks during an opening ceremony in Seychelles.

“Cutlass Express is designed to enhance maritime security capabilities, improve information sharing and strengthen the bonds of each and every participating nation, so that we can all work together for the long term.”

Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Abdelrahim, Head of Liaison from the East Africa Standby Force, echoed Jackson’s sentiments at the ceremony and expressed the importance of cooperation and collaboration in ensuring maritime security.

“We East African nations have benefited greatly from the exercises and activities that our forces have completed; we look forward to this week’s exercise,” said Dr. Abdelrahim.

Cutlass Express aims to test a wide variety of skills such as maritime boarding, medical response, radio communication, and information sharing across regional maritime operations centers (MOCs).

Participants will execute tactics and techniques within scenarios that mirror real-world counter-piracy and counter-illicit trafficking operations as well as actions taken to deter illegal fishing.

Exercise Cutlass Express, in its third year, is one of four Africa-focused regional “Express” series exercises facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet. The exercise is part of a comprehensive strategy of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) to enable African partners to address maritime security concerns.

The exercise serves to demonstrate and test skills that are developed as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) and ongoing efforts to increase maritime domain awareness.

Started in 2007, Africa Partnership Station is an international security cooperation initiative, facilitated by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, aimed at strengthening global maritime partnerships through training and collaborative activities in order to improve maritime safety and security in Africa.

“This year we have 13 nations participating. Such a high number represents the outstanding cooperation we are seeing in this region, a cooperation that we hope to see continue to increase as a result of this exercise,” said Jackson.

Participants in Cutlass Express 2013 include Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, Comoros, Yemen, the Netherlands, Denmark and the U.S. Representatives from the Eastern Africa Standby Force, NATO, and EU Naval Force will also participate.
Press Release, November 12, 2013; Image: US Navy

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