HMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's £6 billion fleet of six Type 45 Destroyers, thundered down the slipway into the River Clyde in Glasgow today, spouting red, white and blue confetti from her formidable stern.

Weighing 7,350 tonnes, her 14 decks bristling with the latest military technology, Daring's successful launch - on time and within budget - is seen as a symbol of rebirth in the Clydeside shipbuilding yards which faced devastation six years ago.

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, launched Daring at a ceremony at the shipyard in Scotstoun which was also attended by the Defence Secretary, John Reid.

HMS Daring slid into the water and was manouevred into place by three tugs, who guided her a few hundred yards down river to a dry dock where the finishing touches will be carried out, including the fitting of her guns.

The second and third ships in the six-ship order - HMS Dauntless, Diamond, Defender, Dragon and Duncan - are already being built. BAE Systems hopes the order will be extended to eight. The contract will keep about 3,000 workers employed until the end of the decade at Scotstoun and its sister yard Govan, across the river.

With a price tag of £605 million, the 150-metre long vessels will be the most powerful, advanced and deadly warships in the world when they come into service in 2009.

Among the battery of state-of-the-art equipment is a new Principal Anti-Air Missile System, which can trace and destroy hostile objects as small a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound. Its range is effective over a radius of several hundred miles.

Her PAAMS air defence missiles are the size of a public phone boxes, weigh
two thirds as much as a small car and from launch accelerate to a speed twice
that of Concorde in under 10 seconds.

The Defence Secretary said the launch was a proud day for the Royal Navy. "It’s a huge boost for the Royal Navy because this is the most capable, most powerful destroyer ever built in the UK," he said.

"Six years ago a lot of people had written them [the Clyde dockyards] off but not the workforce, not the new management and if I might say so not the then Secretary of State for Scotland [John Reid] either."

The main sections of Daring were built at Scotstoun, with the bow built by VT Group (formerly Vosper Thorneycroft) at Portsmouth and transported by barge to the Clyde. The ship was entirely designed on computer before the various modules were built and assembled in a dry berth.

HMS Daring's 230-strong crew should be happy too. She and her sisters will be the first "gender-neutral" warships to enter Royal Navy service, and the Hotel Facilities, as the living quarters are known, are the most opulent ever fitted in a British warship. Mess decks are replaced by individual cabins, each with their own I-pod charging points, CD player, internet access, five channel recreational audio and larger berths.

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