It can track a cricket ball travelling at more than 700 miles per hour, weighs 7,500 tonnes and can shoot planes out of the sky more than 70 miles away.
Guarded by sailors carrying assault rifles, HMS Diamond arrived in her home city of Aberdeen yesterday for the first time since 2011.
The Type 45 destroyer is one of the Royal Navy’s most advanced warships, capable of shooting down drones and planes, sinking ships and tackling ground targets.
If need be she can even carry a helicopter and a troop of marines.
HMS Diamond has made her way to the Granite City in time for remembrance day commemorations on Sunday, with the ship’s company expected to lead the parade.
The Press and Journal was given an exclusive look inside the mammoth vessel docked at Aberdeen Harbour, revealing daily life for the destroyer’s crew.
A walk through the cramped corridors shows the tight space the sailors have to live in.
Ladders and hatches emerge from every direction, meaning only someone with intimate knowledge of the ship would know their way about.
The lower ranked sailors – known as Ratings – sleep three to a bed, with no room to sit up straight in their bunks.
A visit to the bridge showcased technology straight out of a science fiction film – but despite this binoculars are regularly used to judge distances.
The coms room proved equally enlightening, although no pictures were allowed for national security reasons.
“This is where the captain sits,” says a Rating, pointing to a non-distinct chair in a pool of advanced equipment.
“The ship is sailed from the bridge but this is where we fight from,” he adds.
The Royal Navy is currently going through huge changes, struggling to maintain its supremacy as a blue water Navy able to operate anywhere in the globe at the same time as budgets are cut.
But Commander Marcus Hember feels it is an “exciting time”, pointing to the creation of two new supercarriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, as well as the opening of a new base in Bahrain.
He said it was a “great privilege” to come back to Aberdeen.
“Our visit not only reaffirms our special relationship with the city, but is especially important during this month of remembrance for those who have defended the freedom of Britain and the Commonwealth,” he said.
The ship was deployed in January 2014 and tasked with removing chemical weapons from Syria.
It has also been active in anti-piracy and drug busting operations on the high seas.
With such a heavy workload, the 200 or so sailors onboard are keen to cut loose in the Granite City over the weekend with a crawl of the harbour bars rumoured.
For Leading Hand Chris Sinclair, however, he will use the brief shore leave to visit his family in Milltimber.
The 28-year-old said: “I joined in 2007 and have served on HMS Exeter and Nottingham.
“I’ll be leaving Diamond in about four weeks and it’ll be really strange, I’ll miss all the people I’ve met here.
“But I may be going on one of these new carriers which will be totally different.”
The Lord Provost and Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeen George Adam said he was “very proud” of maritime and military history in Aberdeen and was “thrilled” that the ship is visiting the city again.
“I’ve no doubt that the people of Aberdeen will give the Commander and Crew a very warm and enthusiastic welcome,” he said.
HMS Diamond will be open to the public today from 10am to 3pm at Porca Quay. Admission is free.
She will leave on Tuesday.
