Portsmouth Warship Off To Support Fight Against IS

2 September 2016, 10:04 | Updated: 2 September 2016, 10:06

A Royal Navy warship's setting sail from Portsmouth, to support American airstrikes against so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer, and her 190-strong crew will use her sophisticated radar and missile systems to protect US aircraft carriers in the Gulf.

Her mission will also include providing vital information to the coalition’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Al Udeid, Qatar, as well as patrolling some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The nine-month deployment follows on from that of her Portsmouth-based sister ship HMS Defender, which carried out a similar role earlier this year.

Since September 2014 RAF aircraft have conducted more than 900 strikes, while in Iraq UK military personnel are working at several sites to help train thousands of Iraqi forces.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: 

"All three armed services are making a vital contribution to defeating Daesh. RAF aircraft are hitting the terrorists daily on the ground; the Army is providing counter explosives training to Iraq troops; the Royal Navy helps protect coalition carriers in the Gulf as they launch strikes.

“With the biggest defence budget in Europe and the second biggest in NATO our Armed Forces are making a real difference around the world.”

HMS Daring’s other task while away will be to protect the Royal Navy’s annual deployment to the Middle East. She will protect the flagship HMS Ocean, which will assume command of the maritime counter-Daesh effort in the Gulf later this year. As well as providing air defence to Ocean, Daring will mitigate the threat of waterborne attack, carrying Royal Navy and Royal Marine boarding parties to counter pirates, terrorists and smugglers.

Commander Philip Dennis, Daring’s Commanding Officer, said: 

“Our Type 45 destroyers have proved their worth to the coalition in the Gulf and we will build on the progress we have made so far. Daring and her crew have been through intense training to ensure we are fit to tackle the challenges of this important deployment.”