HMS Dauntless has been collaborating with the French Navy amidst the ORION 26 maneuvers, integrating into the naval task force spearheaded by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
The Type 45 destroyer has been cooperating with the French Air Defence Frigate Amiral Ronarc’h to optimize beyond-line-of-sight targeting capabilities, fusing its detection apparatus and battle management platforms with a Wildcat helicopter provided by 815 Naval Air Squadron. Via an update shared during the drills, the vessel highlighted “impressive interoperability in #ORION2026” as Anglo-French ships engaged in combined targeting operations.
“Impressive interoperability in #ORION2026: HMS Dauntless honing over-the-horizon enemy targeting with Wildcat helicopter alongside French FDI Amiral Ronarc’h. 🇬🇧🇫🇷 Stronger together – Type 45 precision meets next-gen French frigate power! 💪 #RoyalNavy #MarineNationale#815NAS pic.twitter.com/vWqhdn1sGU
— HMS Dauntless (@HMSDauntless) February 14, 2026
The French Navy verified Dauntless’s inclusion in the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group for the maneuvers, characterizing this mission as a component of broader Anglo-French collaborative efforts.
As an additional display of international operational synergy, the French replenishment vessel Jacques Stosskopf executed a dual replenishment-at-sea operation, concurrently supplying HMS Dauntless and the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate De Ruyter. This intricate procedure, which the French characterized as exceptionally complex, highlighted the degree of collaboration among the French, British, and Dutch naval forces.
The ORION 26 drill is an element within a larger initiative of advanced joint exercises intended to bolster seamless collaboration, maintain naval air power deployments, and practice intricate multi-environment combat scenarios with its European counterparts.
Welcome to the frigate Dauntless ! 🇬🇧
La frégate anglaise Dauntless rejoint le groupe aéronaval constitué autour du porte-avions Charles de Gaulle pour sa participation à l’exercice ORION 26 !
🇫🇷🤝🇬🇧#orion26 pic.twitter.com/pJm0cdeHDX— French Carrier Strike Group (@French_CSG) February 11, 2026
Dauntless is one of the Royal Navy’s six Daring-class guided missile destroyers, specifically the second vessel, whose main purpose is to offer broad aerial protection to naval task forces. With a displacement ranging from 8,000 to 8,500 metric tons and exceeding 152 meters in length, this vessel category is constructed centered on the Sea Viper anti-air defense network. It integrates the SAMPSON versatile radar and S1850M extended-range observation radar alongside Aster 15 and Aster 30 projectiles contained within 48 Sylver vertical launching compartments.
These vessels utilize a combined electrical propulsion system energized by Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines and diesel generators, attaining velocities surpassing 30 knots and a cruising endurance exceeding 7,000 nautical miles. Approximately 190 crew members manage the ship, and provisions exist for extra onboard personnel.
In addition to its main anti-aircraft function, Dauntless is equipped with a 4.5-inch Mark 8 maritime cannon, 30mm cannons, Phalanx point-defense weaponry, and large-caliber machine guns. Its anti-surface vessel prowess is slated to shift to the Naval Strike Missile after the decommissioning of Harpoon. The vessel type is additionally receiving incremental enhancements, such as the Sea Viper Evolution initiative, poised to boost its ballistic missile interception capacity, as well as the future deployment of Sea Ceptor to substitute Aster 15.