HMS Kent (F78)

	Off Djibouti in 2015, with new "Kryten" gun after refit
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Kent (F78)
Namesake	Duke of Kent
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	February 1996
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down	16 April 1997
Launched	27 May 1998
Sponsored by	Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy
Commissioned	8 June 2000
Refit	LIFEX 2016–2018
Homeport	Devonport
Identification	IMO number: 8949719; MMSI number: 234606000; Callsign: GDIR;
Motto	Invicta (Unconquered)
Status	In active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Type 23 frigate
Displacement	4,900 t (4,800 long tons; 5,400 short tons)
Length	133 m (436 ft 4 in)
Beam	16.1 m (52 ft 10 in)
Draught	7.3 m (23 ft 11 in)
Propulsion	CODLAG: Four 1510 kW (2,025 shp) Paxman Valenta 12CM diesel generators; Two GEC electric motors delivering 2980 kW (4000 shp); Two Rolls-Royce Spey SM1C delivering 23,190 kW (31,100 shp);
Speed	In excess of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range	7,500 nautical miles (14,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement	185 (accommodation for up to 205)
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	UAF-1 ESM, or, UAT Mod 1; Seagnat; Type 182 towed torpedo decoy; Surface Ship Torpedo Defence;
Armament	Anti-air missiles:; 1 × 32-cell GWS 35 Vertical Launching System (VLS) for:; 32 × Sea Ceptor missiles (1–25+ km); Anti-ship missiles:; Up to 2 × quad Harpoon launchers (8 × missiles; Harpoon fit as of 2023); Anti-submarine torpedoes:; 2 × twin 12.75 in (324 mm) Sting Ray torpedo tubes; Guns:; 1 × BAE 4.5 inch Mk 8 naval gun; 2 × 30 mm DS30M Mk2 guns, or, 2 × 30 mm DS30B guns; 2 × Miniguns; 4 × General-purpose machine gun;
Aircraft carried	1 × Wildcat HMA2, armed with:; 2 × anti-submarine torpedoes (Martlet ASM to be fitted in 2021/22 and full operating capability for Sea Venom ASM projected from 2026) ; or; 1 × Westland Merlin HM2, armed with;; 4 × anti-submarine torpedoes;
Aviation facilities	Flight deck; Enclosed hangar;

HMS Kent is a Type 23 Duke class frigate of the Royal Navy, and the twelfth ship to bear the name, although formally she is named after the dukedom rather than the county. Sponsored by Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy (daughter of the late Prince George, Duke of Kent), Kent was launched on 28 May 1998 and commissioned on 8 June 2000 under the command of then Commander John Clink. She was the first ship to enter Royal Navy service in the 21st century and the first Royal Navy warship with a female Executive Officer, Lt Cdr Vanessa Jane Spiller, appointed in April 2001.

Kent's lineage boasts sixteen Battle Honours from the three given to the first Kent of 46 guns built in 1653, to the five awarded to the ninth and tenth Kents of World War I and World War II.

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