Funding was agreed in 2015 but actual work on the first ship to undergo the Power Improvement Package (PIP) which promises to cure the problem, was not started until five years later. The Equipment Improvement Plan (EIP) has implemented design changes to the ships, helping improve resilience and allowing them to deploy on operations all over the world but with some limitations and total power failures are still occasionally experienced. This has now been re-negotiated with BAE Systems and the Common Support Model is now addressing poor in-house stores, tools, training and technical documentation issues. The initial shoreside support arrangement for the Type 45s was not ideal and relied on a contracting-for-availability approach for the first eight years. The RN is still struggling to deal with the legacy of this decision more than two decades later. Pioneering new technology always involves risk and the WR21 gas turbine intercooler-recuperators, part of a complex integrated electric propulsion system, have experienced a series of failures. In summary, back in 2000, the government of the time made the, not unreasonable, decision to fit innovative and potentially very efficient WR21 British-made gas turbine engines instead of selecting a proven US-made design. The Sampson radars and Sea Viper air defence systems have proved to be world-leading but the ships have been dogged by propulsion issues. When the Type 45s entered service 80% of their equipment was new to the RN and many of their advanced systems lacked resilience.
Here we look at the current situation and the complicated back story. Depending on who you listen to, this is either an embarrassing disaster or entirely routine and no cause for concern.
With the return of HMS Dragon to Portsmouth last week, at the time of writing, all six of the Type 45 destroyers are alongside or in dock.
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