Scanning the faces of the crowds waiting in Portsmouth Harbor, a line of young sailors could barely contain their excitement at being reunited with their loved ones after months at sea.
They waved frantically as family members appeared. There were tears of joy, smiles of anticipation and hugs of relief when HMS Diamond finally pulled alongside.
The Type 45 destroyer arrived home over the weekend after a historic mission to defend international shipping in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.
At that time, he made Royal Navy history by blasting seven Houthi drones out of the sky during a single swarm attack – the largest number of enemy aircraft to be destroyed in one day by any British warship.
The ship scored again by shooting down a ballistic missile in April that was targeting a merchant ship – the first time any part of the UK armed forces had shot down such a weapon in combat.
HMS Diamond was in line for another first – becoming the first port of call for John Healey, Labour’s new defense secretary, just hours after he took office on Friday.
But a problem with the helicopter he was traveling in meant the aircraft had to turn around on Friday night rather than land on the warship sailing off the coast of Plymouth.
On the other hand, Sky News managed to get on board – traveling by sea rather than air to meet up with the giant ship.
Photo: MoD
Photo: MoD
We spent 24 hours with its crew of around 225 sailors who have been at sea for 151 days. During that time, they sailed about 44,000 miles, including in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as part of a U.S.-led coalition to protect merchant ships transiting the area.
The captain, Commander Peter Evans, showed us the air defense system that was used to destroy most of the drones and to destroy the ballistic missile. The ship shot down a total of nine Houthi drones during its deployment.
“The weapon we’re all talking about right now is the Sea Viper system, which is in those square doors in front of us,” he said, pointing to the white squares that formed two large rectangular beats on a raised platform at the front of the ship.
“The door opens and the missiles are about 4 or 5 meters long. When they pass through the roof of the bridge, they are already far, far above the speed of sound,” said the commander.
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HMS Diamond moment thwarts Houthi drone attack
Asked what message the destruction of a Houthi missile sent, he said: “We can be reactive, we can be fast, we can be flexible and we are certainly capable of protecting ships at sea.”
In the operations room, a windowless area inside the ship filled with rows of screens and monitors displaying radar and satellite images as well as video footage and other data, a junior sailor recalled the moment HMS Diamond attacked the missile. ballistic.
“We hear the general alarm and don’t think it’s real when it’s happening,” said Leader Erin Graham, 22, from Middlesborough.
“But then when it actually shows up on the radar, we know we have seconds [to react].”
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Photo: MoD
Photo: MoD
The sailor, who heads a team that practices electronic warfare, said training has begun.
“You knew you couldn’t make a mistake, but it was a very smooth fight from start to finish and the ship performed excellently.”
Asked how she felt about returning home, she said: “Honestly, I can’t want to.”
She would be welcomed by her mother, her father, their respective partners, her twin sister, her younger sister and her grandmother.
As for what she was looking forward to, the young sailor listed waking up in her own bed, driving and seeing her dog. “Normal home stuff.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
