HMS Duncan, the Royal Navy’s newest warship, will call into Gibraltar today to top up on fuel and supplies, as she continues on her maiden deployment from Portsmouth.

The Portsmouth based Type 45 destroyer will spend nine months working with allies in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Gulf to protect allied and merchant shipping and wider British interests in the region.

HMS Duncan’s Commanding Officer, Commander Rich Atkinson, said: “I am immensely proud of the achievements of my ship’s company over the last 12 months.

“All the engineering work and successful operational training means that HMS Duncan is now the world’s most advanced air defence warship and is ready to play a key role in defending international trade, freedoms and Britain’s interests.”

He continued, “Following significant engineering upgrades and a long period of operational sea training, HMS Duncan is ready in all respects to undertake any and all missions that she may be tasked to undertake ranging from counter piracy and disaster relief to defence engagement and high-intensity conflict.”

HMS Duncan, the last of the Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers, was commissioned in September 2013.

The ship is armed with the highly sophisticated Sea Viper missile system able to track and engage several aircraft and missile targets at very high speed.

In addition Duncan acts as a floating base for a Royal Navy Lynx Mark 8 maritime attack helicopter which can hunt submarines and surface ships or act in a search and rescue role. 

HMS Duncan will also carry both Royal Navy and Royal Marine boarding parties which can help to counter the threat from pirates, terrorists and smugglers.