HMS Dragon nears return to action after major refit

Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon is poised to return to the fleet this year, fuelled by the milestone achievement of installing new engines.

Since March 2022, the Type 45 destroyer has been undergoing extensive upgrades in Portsmouth.

Now, nearly two years later, one of Dragon's new engines has been successfully started for the first time as part of essential trials.

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The ship is the latest of her class – after HMS Dauntless and HMS Daring – to go through the Power Improvement Project (PIP), a move towards replacing original diesel engines with more powerful cleaner generators.

"The inaugural roar of Dragon’s new engines marked the beginning of the next chapter in our return to the fleet," Dragon’s Senior Naval Officer, Lieutenant Commander Fiona Stephenson said.

"I am proud of the hard work of our marine engineering team and industry partners and look forward to delivering as one team as we breathe fire into Dragon."

HMS Dragon is the first of the Type 45s to undergo PIP in Portsmouth, with HMS Dauntless and HMS Daring’s work taking place at Cammell Laird.