Destroyers will break down if sent to Middle East, admits Royal Navy [View all]

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/07/destroyers-will-break-down-if-sent-to-middle-east-admits-royal-navy

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/07/destroyers-will-break-down-if-sent-to-middle-east-admits-royal-navy

Destroyers will break down if sent to Middle East, admits Royal Navy


Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday 7 June 2016 18.08 BST Last modified on Tuesday 7 June 2016 22.00 BST


The Royal Navy’s fleet of six £1bn destroyers is breaking down because the ships’ engines cannot cope with the warm waters of the Gulf, defence chiefs have admitted. They also told the Commons defence committee on Tuesday that the Type 45 destroyers’ Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines are unable to operate in extreme temperatures and will be fitted with diesel generators. Rolls-Royce executives said engines installed in the Type 45 destroyers had been built as specified – but that the conditions in the Middle East were not “in line with these specs”.
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The navy wanted 12 ships but ended up with six. The Type 45 has an integrated electric propulsion system that powers everything on board. The ships are vulnerable to “total electric failures”, according to one naval officer in an email. That leaves the ships without propulsion or weapons systems.
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