Hiding the Dragon
“HMS Dragon’s Lynx helicopter fires infra red flares during an exercise over the Type 45 destroyer. As well as flying her own Lynx helicopter – of 815 Naval Air Squadron based in Yeovilton – Dragon has been flexing muscle as part of joint training with Typhoons from her affiliated 6 Squadron RAF.Holding various flying exercises with 11 Squadron, based at RAF Conningsby, and Boeing E3-Ds from 8 Squadron based at RAF Waddington, Dragon also exchanged personnel for the RAF to experience life on a ship and vice versa.” MOD Photo
A display of decoy flares illuminates the sky above one of the Royal Navy’s newest and most powerful warships, HMS Dragon. HMS Dragon is the fourth ship of the Type 45 or Daring-class air-defense destroyers built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in November 2008 and commissioned on 20 April, 2012. The flares were fired by the ship’s Lynx helicopter as it flew over the vessel. Such as last-ditch action can help divert incoming anti-ship missiles without blooming out the ship’s own radar and close-in weapons system. .