Royal Navy destroyer HMS Diamond finally scheduled to leave Portsmouth today to join Nato response to Russian invasion of Ukraine

A BILLION-pound Royal Navy warship plagued by technical woes is finally set to leave the Portsmouth after a week-long delay.
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HMS Diamond had been expected to deploy last week to support the Nato response to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

The mighty warship has been earmarked to join an alliance fleet in the eastern Mediterranean, accompanied by Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Trent.

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Initially, the Type 45 vessel had been due to leave her home base of Portsmouth on February 17 but its departure was delayed due to Storm Eunice.

The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond at Portsmouth Naval Base.The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond at Portsmouth Naval Base.
The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond at Portsmouth Naval Base.
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Royal Navy warships from Portsmouth stand ready to act as a shield for Nato afte...

Then on Monday, a Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed the destroyer required ‘minor repairs’ due to a defect on board.

She was then scheduled to leave Portsmouth on Wednesday morning but that too, was cancelled.

Now Diamond has been scheduled to finally depart Portsmouth at midday today, according to the Queen’s Harbour Master office in Portsmouth – more than 24 hours after Russia stormed Ukraine’s border.

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The warship is not expected to get involved in the conflict but will instead help to provide reassurance to Nato allies in Europe.

Also set to leave the city today will be Diamond’s sister ship, HMS Defender, which will leave at 7pm.

The vessel is not expected to join Diamond and Trent in the Mediterranean as part of Britain’s military response to the crisis in Ukraine.

Speaking to The News yesterday, retired Vice Admiral Bob Cooling – who once captained the former Royal Navy aircraft HMS Illustrious – said Diamond and Trent would act as a shield for Nato.

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The veteran officer, who served during the Cold War, said: ‘[The ships] are there as a Nato safeguard. Their job is to defend Nato and they will do a superb job if it comes to that.

‘I don’t think it will come to that. But they are deployed forward and will be a defensive line if this escalates. I doubt it will escalate.’

HMS Diamond is one of six destroyers in the Royal Navy’s fleet.

The vessels are touted as some of the most advanced air defence warships in the world.

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Equipped with the ferocious Sea Viper missile, which can knock moving targets out of the sky from up to 70 miles away, Type 45 destroyers are the ‘backbone of the Royal Navy’, the service said.

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