The Royal Navy’s fleet of Type 45 destroyers are breaking down because their engines cannot cope with the Persian Gulf’s warm waters.

Rolls-Royce are blaming extremes of temperature in the Middle East for the repeated power outages that have left Britain’s best fighting ships without propulsion or weapons systems.

Six Clyde-built Type 45 destroyers need work expected to cost tens of millions of pounds after a string of power failures.

If it is not done, the vessels could be left as sitting ducks in battle if the UK is in a major conflict at sea again.

A Whitehall source said: “We can’t have warships that cannot operate if the water is warmer than it is in Portsmouth harbour.

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