HMS Duncan: Everything we know about the Clyde-built Royal Navy Destroyer set to be deployed to the Middle East - including crew and weaponry
If approved, the mission will be the latest that the ship has carried out around the world since its launch in Govan
It’s been reported that the UK Government is set to deploy a warship built in Glasgow to defend a military base in Cyprus.
The current unrest in the Middle East saw Iran target RAF Akrotiri with a drone strike just after midnight on Monday (March 2), damaging an aircraft hanger, with two more drones intercepted by British warplanes later in the day.
Now Defence Secretary John Healey is understood to be considering sending HMS Duncan, currently stationed in Portsmouth, to defend Cyprus from possible ballistic missile attacks.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Scottish-built boat.
Where was HMS Duncan built?
The Royal Navy Destroyer was built on the River Clyde in Glasgow at the BAE Systems Surface Ships yards at Govan and Scotstoun.
Work started on the ship in 2006 and it was launched from Govan on October 11, 2010, in a ceremony to mark the 213th anniversary of the Battle of Camperdown. It commenced sea trials in August 2012.
How many people serve on HMS Duncan?
How long would it take for the HMS Duncan to get to Cyprus?
Currently stationed at Portsmouth, it would take the Destroyer around a week to get to Cyprus.
What other missions has the HMS Duncan been involved in?
The Destroyer has been involved in a range of missions since being commissioned in September 2013, including the following:
- In 2015 the ship was deployed to the Middle East alongside the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group Twelve in action against Iraq.
- In 2016 HMS Duncan intercepted a fleet of Russian Navy vessels passing through the English Channel.
- In 2017 HMS Duncan was the flagship of NATO's Standing Maritime Naval Group 2, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
- In 2018, she visited Mediterranean and Black Sea ports including Constanța, Souda Bay, and Split,
- In 2019, HMS Duncan visited Odesa harbour in Ukraine, before being ordered to the Persian Gulf in response to threats against British shipping by Iran.
- In 2023, following a refit, the warship joined Orion23, France's largest-ever military exercise, held in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Later in 2023, HMS Duncan lead a minefield exercise in the Mediterranean.
- In 2024, HMS Duncan was deployed for security operations in the Mediterranean in conjunction with US forces.
Have I seen HMS Duncan on television?
Many television viewers will be familiar with HMS Duncan as the ship and its crew feature on Channel 5 television documentary Warship: Life at Sea.
The first series saw the vessel on a NATO deployment which included confrontations with Russian warships and aircraft.
The second series saw the ship joining the HMS Montrose to protect cargo vessels and oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
What weaponry does the HMS Duncan carry?
The HMS Duncan is said to be one of the most advanced warships on the planet, with claims that it can detect a "tennis ball-sized object moving at three times the speed of sound, from over 100 miles away."
It carries a range of anti-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and five different types of gun, as well as up to two fully-armed helicopters.
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