The second of the Royal Navy’s new generation of destroyers is beginning to take shape on the Clyde after the first steel was cut on the hull.

HMS Dauntless is the second of a planned class of eight D-class, or Type 45, destroyers – although at more than 7,300 tons the ships could almost pass for cruisers.

Like the first in class, HMS Daring, HMS Dauntless is being built in sections by BAE Systems and VT Shipbuilding. The former, as prime contractor, builds the aft and central superstructure, the latter the ship’s bow and distinctive pyramidal main mast.

The first steel cut for her was at BAE’s Govan yard on the River Clyde in Scotland.

Pressing the switch on a hi-tec plasma cutter, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West said he felt honoured to be setting in motion a chain of events which would give the RN the second of the world’s most advanced air defence warships.

“This is a really momentous occasion – the steel I am cutting officially starts the building of a ship which will form part of the most advanced air destroyer fleet in the world,” he said.

The D-class will take over from the veteran Type 42 destroyers, which were designed in the1960s and the first batch of which were launched in the 1970s.

The new vessels have been designed with the 21st century firmly in mind, and are built around the central weapon system, the PAAMS anti-air missile.

The six ships ordered will cost around £5.5bn, sustaining 2,000 jobs on the Clyde and around 650 in Portsmouth.

HMS Daring is already one year into construction, and is due to enter service towards the end of the decade.

Six D-class ships are on the order books presently – Diamond, Defender, Dragon and Duncan will follow their first two sisters, with orders for any subsequent destroyers to be placed later.

All are due to be based in Portsmouth, as is the case with the current Type 42s.

Facilities for the production of the destroyers at Govan are about to start a major expansion programme, part of a larger programme of investment at the BAE’s Clyde yards.

The new building at Govan will allow the major production of blocks for the Type 45s to be done under cover, cutting costs and the risks of delays and providing other benefits for the programme.

Piling work on the extended Tank Assembly Shop, where large sections of the ship will be brought together before being moved to the berth for final assembly, is due to begin around now.

The £2m investment will increase the usable capacity of the facility by 40 per cent.

It is part of a planned £11m programme for the Clyde yards to support work on the Type 45s. Substantial investments have also been made at BAE’s other Glasgow facility in Scotstoun, including the creation of transfer quays at both sites and the refurbishment of the Scotstoun Module Hall.

Another milestone in the Type 45 programme was achieved when the first Sampson multi-function radar was installed on the representative Type 45 mast at the company’s Cowes works on the Isle of Wight.