English: HMS Diamond firing Sea Viper surface to air missile for the first time. With a flash of orange and an ear-splitting bang HMS Diamond has proved her fighting mettle by testing her missile system off the Outer Hebrides. The third of the Royal Navy’s cutting edge Type-45 destroyers blasted her missile out of the silo at three times the speed of sound, obliterating the jet drone target out of the sky. The successful firing of the Sea Viper system means that HMS Diamond is now ready to take her place as a fully operational warship, capable of deploying anywhere across the world. “I am immensely proud of what my ship’s company has accomplished in such a short space of time,” said Commanding Officer, Commander Ian Clarke. “Ever since I took command of this ship in 2010 my focus has been to see the ship declared ready for operations within this time scale. “Our job when we deploy will be to bring stability and security to international trade routes and protect our nation’s interests abroad; a job we are now trained and ready to do.” Sea Viper is a state-of-the-art air defence weapons system which is a combination of Aster missiles, Sampson radar (the spinning ball on top of the mast), combat and command system and the silo on the forecastle containing the Sylver vertical missile launcher. All of this can destroy a target the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound in the air.