Royal Navy to moves naval destroyer Dauntless to Falklands

The Royal Navy's most sophisticated warship will sail for the South Atlantic, a move that will serve to send Argentina a strong  message.

Dauntless, the second Type 45 of six, is currently being trialled off the west coast of Scotland prior to its handover to the Navy at the end of the year

Dauntless will sail for the Falkland Islands over the coming weeks equipped with enough firepower to "take out all of South America's fighter aircraft let alone Argentina's," according to one Navy source quoted by The Telegraph newspaper.

The Type 45 destroyer, the most advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic ship in the world carries 48 Sea Viper missiles and a radar called The Sampson that is said to be more advanced than that at Heathrow air traffic control.

The ship is a class apart in air defence and can shoot down Argentine planes no soon after they take off from their bases, according to a Navy source quoted by newspaper.

The vessel is expected to be deployed in late March as Argentina has been stepping up up its claims over possession of the islands with a ban on all Falkland registered ships in South American ports.