RN Destroyers: Type 83

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Options for the Royal Navy’s Future Air Dominance System and the Type 83 destroyer

The RN is currently considering how to replace the Type 45 destroyers and is also developing a broader air and missile defence strategy for the fleet. Here we look at some of the thinking underway in the concept phase for the Future Air Dominance System (FADS).

SOSA
As we previously observed, air threats to surface ships are increasing in complexity and defending the fleet will be a demanding challenge with few cheap or simple options. The FADS programme is currently in the concept phase and but will likely utilise a Systems of Systems Approach (SOSA) with the Type 83 destroyer being just one aspect.

FADS will provide the RN’s next generation Anti Air Warfare capability and contribute to UK integrated air and missile defence. The ambition is to have a more distributed sensor network that can not only put an umbrella over the fleet, but contribute to control of the air over a wide area. By necessity, FADS will be a highly automated system with reduced crew requirements and be interoperable with allies.

FADS will integrate with existing UK defence assets or programmes in development including land and space systems, F-35, FMAF and the RAF’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS /GCAP). The ‘effectors’ at the sharp end will primarily be missiles but may encompass new technologies such as Directed Energy Weapons and uncrewed systems.

The speed of developing air threat demands earlier warning than can be provided by ship-mounted radar even when sited high on the ship. This means FADS will have to rely more on airborne sensors and targeting information from on other platforms, underpinned by a robust real-time data network. This is a modern interpretation of the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) that was supposed to be a feature of Type 45 but was never implemented for budget reasons. The concept has already been proven under controlled conditions by US and European warships during the biennial Formidable Shield exercises. Missiles have successfully destroyed targets when launched from a ship using guidance data from another ship many miles away. As can be seen from the concept diagram, this approach offers both a credible response to the diverse threat but carries a lot of risk from its technical complexity and multiple moving parts.

Pull-through from T45
Type 45 has proven it can detect and track medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) and the Sea Viper Evolution programme (SV-E) will improve the ability to intercept medium-range ballistic threats. This capability will likely be drawn through into FADS but the RN does not appear to be striving for complete long-range anti-ballistic missile capability, most likely for affordability reasons and will continue to rely on allies. However, FADS will be designed to cope with hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) and hypersonic sea-skimming missiles. Land attack missile capability is also a feature of FADS, a capability that Type 45 will also attain when eventually fitted with the Naval Strike Missile, although impact is limited by having a relatively small warhead.

The RN seems to be moving away from the European Sylver VLS system that equips the Type 45 and standardising on the US MK41 VLS which has been selected for both Type 26 and Type 31. It is possible the highly successful Aster missile (or an evolved derivative) will be integrated on Mk41 rather than purchasing Standard series missiles off the shelf from the US. Theoretically, T26 and T31 could also be networked into FADS and contribute to the air defence mission using weapons in their Mk41 cells.

It seems pretty certain that the rotating Sampson-type radar will not be a feature of Type 83 and the RN will finally adopt a fixed phased array. Whether this will be a BAE Systems product building on the pedigree of Sampson is difficult to say as the once world-leading naval radar development industry in the UK has been starved of projects over the past two decades.

A radical solution for Type 83
There is much more to unpack within the FADS vision that is still in an early stage of development but one eye-catching idea from the work that has begun is to adopt a quite radical approach to the Type 83 destroyer design. Instead of building a typical surface combatant with a mix of capabilities, the proposal is to build a ship of around 4,000 tonnes that is only equipped with high-end radar and plenty of VLS cells. (Main concept image above) The ship would have no guns (except light weapons for force protection), no ASW capability, no hangar and a crew of less than 50. Manning would be so taut that small teams might need to be embarked by helicopter or boat for specific evolutions such as replenishment at sea, preventative maintenance or additional force protection for high-threat transits.

The machinery and living spaces at the core of the ship could be armoured the rest of the hull would be hypoxic – ie. filled with inert gas and unmanned for the majority of the time. The ship would be very survivable but damage control would be using remote systems only with no re-entries envisaged, given the tiny crew. (This DC model is widely used in the commercial shipping world and some RFA vessels).

By simplifying the design to focus on a single role, the build and sustainment costs would be much-reduced and in theory, this could allow 3 or 4 times the number of hulls to be built for the equivalent price of a full-capability spectrum air-defence cruiser. More hulls increase availability and the force could be more widely distributed to provide a larger area of air dominance around the carrier strike group. The vessel would be reliant on ASW defence provided by other platforms in the group.

The idea of an ‘arsenal ship’ that is packed with VLS cells and little else, a weapon barge dependent on other platforms for the sensor/decider and missile guidance functions has been around for a while. This concept is a step up as it would carry radar and have a combat system, although for a single purpose. It should be emphasised that this is only one idea under consideration and has by no means been adopted as the only direction of development for Type 83.

There is much merit in the ultra-specialised AAW destroyer concept and it would make a lot of sense if it was exempt from broader considerations about the state of the RN as a whole and the historical and political context of the project. In practice, warships spend a large proportion of their time conducting maritime security, defence engagement, HADR and other lower-end taskings. For a fleet already short of hulls, having 20+ ships that cannot effectively perform these duties would represent a lot of capital tied up in single-role vessels and a huge loss of flexibility.

The RN has previous with this idea. In the late 1970s work was started on a specialist low-cost ASW frigate design that would be a ‘towed array sonar tug’, with a flight deck but no hangar, relying on an RFA to support the helicopter. Following the Falklands War, it was decided a much more general-purpose capability was needed and the sonar tug evolved into the Type 23 frigate. Although very effective ASW platforms, they carry out a wide range of other tasks and still survive today (just), forming the backbone of the surface fleet.

It would require an unusually disciplined procurement process to build a large number of specialist hulls. Historical precedent suggests regular defence economies would likely see numbers trimmed over time and ‘mission creep’ could see additional capabilities added increasing costs. The result could be a ‘worst of all worlds’ scenario producing a low number of hulls only really good at one mission.


A recent BAE Systems Type 83 concept image – only a placeholder and not an indication of any definite plans. The ‘cruiser solution’ is the more conventional option but would be an expensive vessel displacing upwards of 10,000 tonnes.
The goals of FADS is essentially to maintain freedom of manoeuvre through increased detection ranges, faster reactions with greater lethality over longer distances than existing systems. There are no short cuts to achieving this and the budget will be inevitably be constrained. The SOSA benefits from individual elements that can be developed separately and be replaced and upgraded more easily than if all the capability is hosted primarily in one ship. The disadvantage is the complexity of the many parts managed by different stakeholders that must be procured, maintained and deployed while connected with common protocols across a very secure high-bandwidth network. FADS must also be viable with or without the support of land-based aircraft and sensors making a carrier-based radar platform especially critical.

For full article, which contains images etc. go to - https://www.navylookout.com/options-for ... destroyer/

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Britain’s new Type 83 Destroyer to be armed with laser guns

Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge has outlined plans for the Royal Navy’s Future Air Dominance System, the Type 83 Destroyer, at the Full Spectrum Air Defence Conference in London.
The minister provided an insight into what this system will encompass.
Continues at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain ... aser-guns/ - LFT

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New UK warship design speaks to Indo-Pacific ambitions

Type 83 destroyer concept art surfaces at naval conference but the heavily-armed boat may ultimately lack the finance to deploy See - https://asiatimes.com/2023/07/new-uk-wa ... ambitions/ - LFT