The 1st Royal Tank Regiment formed a Bond of Friendship with HMS Vigilant in May 2001. The Bond was authorised by MOD PS 12 (A) in their D/DPS(A) 104/4/1PS12 (A) of 8 May 2001.
Both the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and HMS Vigilant have strong Scottish links, 1 RTR recruits in Scotland and HMS Vigilant is based at Faslane.
An exchange of soldiers and sailors takes place on a regular basis when HMS Vigilant is in her home port.
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|
| Launched: | October 1995 |
| Commissioned: | November 1996 |
| Homeport: | HMNB Clyde |
| Fate: | in refit |
| General characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | Dived: 15,680 tons |
| Length: | 149.9 m |
| Beam: | 12.8 m |
| Draught: | 12 m |
| Propulsion: | 1 × Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor
2 × GEC turbines
1 × shaft pump jet
27,500 hp (20.5 MW)
2 × auxiliary retractable propulsion motors
2 × W H Allen turbo generators
6 MW
2 × Paxman diesel alternators
2 × 2,700 hp (20.5 MW) |
| Speed: | Dived: 25 knots (46 km/h) |
| Range: | Essentially unlimited |
| Complement: | 14 officers
121 enlisted |
Sensors and
processing systems: | BAE Systems SMCS
Thales Underwater Systems Type 2054 composite sonar suite comprising:
Type 2046 towed array sonar
Type 2043 hull-mounted active and passive search sonar
Type 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar
1 × Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I band navigation radar
1 × Pilkington Optronics CK51 search periscope
1 × Pilkington Optronics CH91 attack periscope |
Electronic warfare
and decoys: | Thales UPM intercept ESM
2 × Mk10 launchers for launching Type 2066 and Type 2071 decoys |
| Armament: | 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
16 × ballistic missile tubes
Spearfish torpedoes
16 × Lockheed Trident D5 SLBMs carrying up to 128 warheads |