Daring to protect the Olympics

The Daring-class destroyer HMS Manchester (photo), or one of her sister ships, could be doing duty at the Olympics, according to this UPI.com article:

The Royal Navy has proposed using its newest destroyer to protect the 2012 Olympics from terrorists who might attack by air, British officials said. The plan calls for mooring a Daring-class destroyer in the Thames estuary so it could shoot down hijacked jets or small planes commandeered by terrorists toward London or the Olympics site, The Sunday Times of London reported. The destroyer's missile system is designed "to defend against supersonic, stealthy, highly maneuverable missiles that could use sea-skimming or steep-diving flight profiles approaching in salvos, simultaneously from several directions," the Royal Navy said. The plan still must be approved by British security ministers, the Times reported.

Rico says if the US Navy had had a destroyer in New York Harbor in 2001, things might've been very different, at least for the second tower...