Duncans construction began at the BAE Systems Naval Ships yards at Govan and Scotstoun on the River Clyde in 2006. She was launched from Govan on 11 October 2010, on the 213th anniversary of the Battle of Camperdown. Duncan sailed from Scotstoun shipyard, Glasgow on 31 August 2012 to commence sea trials.
Operational service
Duncan, the sixth and last Type 45 destroyer, was commissioned on 26 September 2013. She entered service on 30 December 2013, four months ahead of schedule, after a period of trials and training. On 2 March 2015, Duncan left HMNB Portsmouth on her maiden deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East. On 7 July 2015, Duncan joined up with the U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group Twelve to strike the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In April 2016, HMS Duncan was one of several Royal Navy ships exercising with the French Navy in Exercise Griffin Strike. In October 2016, Duncan, escorted by the frigate, was dispatched by the Ministry of Defence to intercept and "man-mark" a fleet of Russian Navy vessels, including their flagship, which were passing through the English Channel on their way to Syria. In November, while sailing off the coast of England, Duncan suffered a total propulsion failure and was towed back to Plymouth. Duncan sailed from Portsmouth in June 2017 to assume the role of flagship of NATO's Standing Maritime Naval Group 2, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Duncan was due to be relieved in September 2017 by on her final deployment, however Ocean was redeployed to the Caribbean Sea to provide relief to British Overseas Territories in the region in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Duncan was instead relieved by which was berthed in Gibraltar en route to the Persian Gulf to relieve. Duncan returned to Portsmouth on 22 September 2017. She resumed NATO duties in January 2018, visiting Mediterranean and Black Sea ports such as Constanța, Souda Bay, and Split, and again took command of SNMG2, returning to Portsmouth on 13 July 2018. In November and December 2018, Duncan featured on the Channel 5television documentaryWarship: Life at Sea, which captured everyday life on board the vessel during her NATO deployment earlier that year, including confrontations with Russian warships and aircraft, including the Russian frigate Admiral Essen. On the programme, it is frequently claimed by the ship's crew that Duncan can detect a 'tennis ball sized object moving at 3-times the speed of sound, from over 100 miles away.' In December 2018 it was announced that Duncan would be affiliated with the town of Scarborough on the Yorkshire Coast. In July 2019 Duncan visited Odessa harbour in Ukraine. On 12 July 2019 she was ordered to the Persian Gulf in response to threats against British shipping by Iran. On arrival she joined with the frigate in protecting cargo vessels and oil tankers. In September 2019, Duncan returned to her home base at Portsmouth for a refit.
