HMS Dragon breathes fire in weapons tests

Bullets fired at 1,000 metres per second cracked through the air of the Arabian Sea on Thursday, as crew on board a Cardiff-affiliated warship tested their weapons.

About 200 crew members were on board the HMS Dragon as rounds were fired at targets in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia, in preparation for counter-piracy operations.

The ship has fully automated systems, but crew are trained to use weapons manually, in case of emergency.

One of the weapons being tested was a 30mm cannon, which is usually radar or laser guided.

But during the practice session, the cannon was handled manually by Royal Navy able seaman Ben Pritchard, 23, who maintains the ship’s sea survival equipment.

He said: “This was the first time I’d fired the weapon and the kit was really easy to use - it’s a lot more accurate than you’d think.”

During the exercise, crew fired at an “indestructible” one metre cube of polystyrene, which can be used repeatedly during target practice.

HMS Dragon left the UK on March 19 and is currently on her first operational deployment in the Middle East.

The main role of the ship is to protect UK national forces against enemy aircraft and missiles.

The 152-metre ship is the fourth of the Royal Navy’s six £1bn Type 45 destroyers and is the latest to be commissioned into the fleet.

Type 45s are the most advanced warships built in Britain and are designed to shield the fleet from air attack using a Sea Viper missile, which can knock targets out of the sky up to 70 miles away.

The ship is affiliated with Cardiff and first visited her adopted city last spring, where she was greeted by First Minister Carwyn Jones for a demonstration and reception.

The ship is expected to return to South Wales on many occasions during her anticipated 35-45 year career within the Royal Navy’s fleet.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: “The crew are really proud of the Welsh affiliation.”

UK’s Sea Viper Weapon Systems Blow Target Out Of Sky During Live Firing Test

The HMS Dragon has tested the Sea Viper weapon system which successfully knocked out a target out of the sky at the Outer Hebrides missile range off Scotland.

The Type-45 destroyer eliminated an Aster missile at three times the speed of sound during a live firing exercise which took place on the Outer Hebrides missile range last week.

The 7,500-tonne ship is all set for an intense work up before she is declared ready for operations and deployed next year.

HMS Dragon’s Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Duncan MacRae RN, said, “This was a great demonstration of the capability of a Type 45 and a reassurance of system performance. I have been involved in a couple of missile shoots but this one was by far and away the most rewarding as I was in the hot seat giving the order to engage”.

The highly sophisticated Sea Viper missile system has a range of 200 miles and is so powerful that it is able to fend off multiple and simultaneous attacks at supersonic speeds. It forms a protective “bubble” around the ship herself, the task force as a whole, and any forces ashore within her range.

Launched on 17 November 2008, HMS Dragon is the fourth of the Navy’s six £1bn Type 45 destroyers. They can fulfill a range of roles, from war-fighting to diplomatic visits designed to promote British interests abroad.