A Type 45 D class destroyer entered Grand Harbour for the first time this afternoon.

The HMS Dragon is an air anti-air defence destroyer, is the fourth of six state-of-the-art Type 45 D class destroyers. It was commissioned last year

It arrived in Malta from its first operation in the Persian Gulf, to which it was deployed in March and once it leaves on Wednesday it will head back to its homeport in Portsmouth, UK.

The destroyer was commissioned in 2012.

The prime role of the ship is air defence to protect the UK and the Allied forces against enemy aircraft and missiles.

The ship, which is berthed at Pinto Wharf measures 152m in length, is 21.2m wide and displaces 7,800 tonnes. Its Captain is Iain S Lower.

It has a crew of 210 including 40 women. Some 40 crew members from HMS Dragon will be joining the Royal Marines Association for the Armistice Day Ceremony on the Saluting Battery at Upper Barrakka, Valletta tomorrow, when the ship will be open for public viewing between 11.30am and 5pm.

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