Britain withdrew from Horizon in 1999 amid a five-year delay and disagreements about hull size, additional vertical-launch space, and industrial work share. A planned order of twelve ships against four each for France and Italy supported the British demand for more of the construction and systems work. Franco-Italian investment in the missile system complicated that division. Yet Forbin and Andrea Doria were laid down in 2002, before HMS Daring's first steel was cut in 2003. The comparison gives December 2007 for the first Italian commissioning, 2008 for the first French ship, and June 2009 for completion of all four, while Daring commissioned in 2009. Those dates weaken the schedule argument for withdrawal. Continued cooperation is also imagined as a route to an OTO Melara 76 mm gun fit, an option that did not materialize.
Notable Point · 28:07-31:16
Leaving Horizon did not deliver an earlier destroyer
British withdrawal from Horizon reflected size, launcher, work-share, and schedule disputes, yet the Franco-Italian ships reached service before or alongside HMS Daring.