Future Surface Combatant (FSC)
The Future Surface Combatant (FSC) program will define the next generation of warship capability for the Royal Navy. BAE Systems Naval Ships has been working to establish potential solutions that will meet the operational requirements.
The Strategic Defence Review emphasised that Forces within the United Kingdom must be flexible and be able to deal with global problems rapidly. The Forces must be manned, equipped, trained and supported by modern warfare. Operations are likely to be multinational and involve the deployment of forces over considerable distances. The Royal Navy has a requirement for a ship to carry out multipurpose missions in both open ocean and coastal water areas. When operating close to shore the ship must have an enhanced survivability capability as well as operating in areas of high submarine threat.
Continued instability throughout the world has underscored the need for the Royal Navy to maintain a strong Naval Presence on a global basis. The ability to conduct not only traditional blue water operations but also extended littoral operations under threat of potential enemies with cheap, but sophisticated weapons is essential. With the changing face of world politics the role of the Royal Navy has changed and its warships are required to take on a more flexible role with tasking anywhere in the world and in virtually any role.
The operating environments of the ship can be classified into two areas, open ocean and coastal waters. The open ocean threats are well known to the Royal Navy and are based on the Cold War doctrine that utilises a strike carrier group as its centrepiece. The Future Surface Combatant must be able to integrate within a Battle Group and provide Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW) and Anti Air Warfare (AAW) protection. The relatively new concept of operating in coastal waters poses new problems. There are a number of new threats from land attack. These are inshore mines, fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, coastal batteries and small patrol boats. The ships sensors will need to cope with additional clutter and its systems must be able to respond to rapid information gathering and target the enemy swiftly.
The FSC must be capable of countering the threat in both open ocean and within the littoral environment. The open ocean threat is well defined and the primary ASW screening will be conducted with ship-mounted sonar (passive and active) supported by helicopter dipping sonar. The threat within the littoral environment can change rapidly and come from a number of different areas. These include land-based aircraft, missiles and munitions; small fast attack craft with low calibre weapons and small missiles; and subsurface threats from submarines and mines. To operate effectively in such an environment besides the strike and multi layer self-defense capabilities, the vessel will be fitted with and an advanced communications suite that allows constant contact and transfer of information between units in the task force.
Following the break up of the Warsaw Pact, NATO has had to redefine the threat it faces and this was echoed in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) which highlighted the need for a flexible rapid reaction force. It has also become increasingly clear that the requirement for a naval force capable of operating effectively in the littorals has become a driving factor for most future operations.
Despite being the direct replacement for the Type 23 frigate, ASW operations will only be a supporting role for the FSC, its primary role being the support of amphibious operations and operation in littoral waters. To achieve these roles the FSC will be designed as a highly flexible ‘swing role’ ship, able to operate both alone and as part of an amphibious task force protecting the capital ships. The Type 45 will provide the area air defense capability for these task groups, but it will lack a comprehensive ASW fit. The FSC will therefore be required to perform a screening role for submarines before proceeding into the littorals, ahead of the task group to complete the land strike role and neutralise defensive positions. To enable autonomous operation outside the umbrella of protection from other units, FSW will have to have a multi-role capability and an effective AAW point defence.
The FSC was the Royal Navy’s plan to look at designing a future warship that will eventually replace the Type 22 and Type 23 Frigates when they come to the end of their operational working lives. The FSC, which is still in its conceptual design stage, will be versatile, affordable and will be a maritime platform that can be deployed through life across the spectrum of defence missions, ranging from peace support to high intensity warfare.
However, by 2008 the MoD’s assumption was that FSC requirement will be met by a two-class solution. The principal element, known as the Versatile Surface Combatant, is expected to enter service around 2023, and a Medium Sized Vessel Derivative is expected to enter service between 2016 and 2019.
The ships were originally scheduled to replace the Type 23 frigates, but due to massive budget cuts and the dramatic reduction of the Navy's fleet, by 2009 the program was set to perform a number of functions. The ships will also replace the Type 22s. The three main categories for the FSC are:
- C1 - Force Anti-Submarine Warfare Combatant (formerly Versatile Surface Combatant)- around ten large vessels for high-threat environments (probably 6 or 8 thousand tons and about as expensive as a Type 45). It would operate as an integral part of the maritime strike group or amphibious task group," said Cdre Brunton, "offering high-end ASW, land attack and coastal suppression. It would also have an organic MCM capability and facilities for an embarked military force".
- C2 - Stabilisation Combatant (formerly Medium Sized Vessel Derivative) - around eight cheaper vessels - generic frigates of about 4 or 5 thousand tons would meet the policy requirement for operations in support of small-scale stabilisation operations, sea line protection and chokepoint escort. C1 and C2 would replace the Type 22 and 23 classes and may use the same generic 6,000 ton hull. The most pressing need is the replacement of the four Batch 3 Type 22s from 2015. This C2 requirement (formerly the MSVD) could be met by an "off the shelf" purchase of the Franco-Italian FREMM multi-role frigate, or a version of the Type 45 destroyer optimised for ASW and surface warfare.
- C3 - Ocean-Capable Patrol Vessel [formerly the Global Corvette] - around eight smaller ships [approximately 2,000 tons displacement with a range of 7,000 n miles] to replace minesweepers and possibly current patrol ships - they will replace a far greater number of existing vessels across various classes. Eight ships would be primarily roled for MCM as replacements for the current Hunt-class and Sandown-class vessels. Potential longer-term replacements are needed for the three River-class offshore patrol vessels, the Falkland Islands patrol vessel HMS Clyde, and the survey ships HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise.
Future Surface Combatant (FSC) Design
The Royal Navy's next generation frigate replacement needs to be adaptive throughout its service life in order to adapt to changing technologies and requirements beyond 2050. The FSC is likely to be “modular” in design, changing equipment and roles. Initial concepts evaluated in 2003 could carry a series of unmanned craft including helicopters, reconnaissance drones, mini surface boats and small submarines. A “quick look” study contract was awarded by the Ministry of Defence to BMT Defence Services of Bath in March 2003, with the mother/daughter idea one of several FSC concepts being considered. The others involved much larger ships designed to be faster, stealthier and more adaptable than existing ships. BMT also considered a pentamaran that would displace about 9,000 tons and launch missiles and amphibious commando ships. One of the key strengths of the pentamaran hullform in military vessels is the large upperdeck area relative to size. The ability to utilise this in support of aviation assets, beyond those typically associated with the corvette/OPV, provides a step change in the traditionally expected capabilities.
Ship operational considerations comprise mission profiles and operational requirements. Mission duration was 45 days. From historical data, it was initially estimated that the FSC will spend 22% of its time in refit, 41% at sea, 14% in maintenance, and 23% in other activities. The ship will be designed for a general purpose role including anti-submarine work but a design has not been decided. A high degree of automation is likely, meaning the crew could be as few as 100 strong. The FSC could be a variation of the Type 45 Destroyer design, however a trimaran (three-hulled) ship would be a high profile, revolutionary design that would offer the benefits of being more stable in rougher sea states, more efficient in the water (less drag) and give more deck space to install weapons systems and allow more area for landing helicopters on the flight deck. As well as being more comfortable for the crew operating the FSC, greater stability allows communications equipment to be stored higher in the ship, which would improve the performance of the transmitters and receivers.
For the most of the Navy’s life the traditional mono-hull has been the chosen design, not surprisingly due to its numerous advantages, such as low power requirements for long distances at low speed, durability, cost efficiency and adaptability to weight change. With these being only a few of the advantages it has also disadvantages, such as its large water plane area which reduces its seakeeping abilities, unfavourable stability characteristics, limited speeds and small deck areas.
The other major technological breakthrough the Royal Navy could benefit from is the use of Electric Propulsion motors. UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) concept architecture for ship Integrated Full Electric propulsion (IFEP) is already partially implemented on the British Royal Navy's Type 23 and SRMH [FMP1] classes. Defence Procurement Minister Baroness Symons said: "The introduction of electric ship propulsion may be as significant as the change from sail to steam. It could mean the warships and submarines of the future would be more effective, would be better places for their crews to live and work on, and would be built and operated at a lower cost to the taxpayer. The work now underway will place the Royal Navy and the French Navy at the forefront of this exciting technological development.”
The two class solution would include the Versatile Surface Combatant, expected to enter service around 2023, and a 'Military Off The Shelf' variant known as the Medium Sized Vessel Derivative expected to enter service between 2016–19. Two major new developments to come with the FSC are the possible incorporation of a trimaran hull and the implementation of electric motors to power the ship.The innovative F5 Future Fast Flexible Frigate concept, proposed in September 2007 by BMT Defence Services and its sister company BMT Nigel Gee, forms the basis for a family of future warships that provide high deployment speed, flexibility, and the potential to swing rapidly between roles. The F5 concept is founded on the patented pentamaran hullform, originally developed for modern fast and efficient commercial multi-hulled passenger ferries and container ships. The pentamaran combines a slender extended centre hull, stabilised by pairs of port and starboard outer hulls, to give a large and stable low drag hull form, as well as side protection and easy berthing. The extended center hull of the pentamaran, and the full breadth superstructure across the wide beam of the ship make the F5 an excellent weapons and sensors platform. It allows clear separation of topside sensors, such as a fixed four-face MPAR, and 64 VLS weapons silos in two modules fore and aft, as well as an electromagnetic rail gun, all with good arcs of fire. The F5 uses a novel COmbined Gas, electric and Gas (COGLAG) waterjet propulsion arrangement to provide low speed efficiency and excellent cruise and boost performance. The F5 also boasts a double hangar capable of housing two Merlin type helicopters.
A Multirole Monohull Warship (MMW) would be fitted with a variety of weapons and sensors that will allow it to carry out its tasks. The ship could launch Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles as well as Harpoon ASW missiles. To provide self-defence from air attacks Aster 15 missiles could be fitted along with two 30mm guns and two Millennium guns. In attack against submarines the ship can use its Magazine Torpedoes and its two Merlin Helicopters. When assisting in Naval Gunfire Support the 5-inch Mk 45 gun is used. Countermeasures include, Seagnat, deflectors and a towed decoy. An Integrated Full Electric Propulsion could consist of four gas turbine alternators, two WR21 (25MW each), one Tempest (9.5 MW) and one TM2500 (2.5 MW) all capable of providing electrical power for both domestic services and propulsion.
Future Surface Combatant (FSC) Program
The pre-design stages of the Future Surface Combatant began with Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) undertaking trials with the only steel construction powered trimaran in the world, the 90-meter long RV Triton. This was to see whether a trimaran design would be more suitable for any future warships. Other designs being considered for FSC is a ship modeled on either basic Type 45 hull or another mono-hull but fitted out for anti surface (ship and ground) and Anti submarine warfare.
Plans envisaged a new class of surface combatant which would enter service from around 2013 when the later Type 22 and Type 23 frigates pay off. The UK expected a contract for the Future Surface Combatant to be placed with a prime contractor in 2007 following competition. The FSC should benefit from the innovative ideas arising from the Type 45 and CVF procurements and it will also exploit emergent technical innovations and concurrent engineering practice to achieve SMART procurement objectives. The cost of replacing 20 Type 22/23 frigates in the Royal Navy after 2010 falls within the responsibility of the Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.
By 2001 it was becoming clear that a more general purpose design was required, with better anti-surface and shore bombardment capabilities. A variety of advanced designs were proposed by industry, including several multihulls of 6000-9000 tonnes, and even a "mothership" carrying four smaller ships of 1500 tonnes. However budget pressures escalated as the cost of the new carriers and Type 45s became apparent in the early 2000s.
In November 2004 the MOD cancelled the big Future Surface Combatant as it had been envisaged until that point. The DPA announced on 25 November 2004 that it was developing ideas for a possible two-class solution to the requirement for a multipurpose warship, having decided not to proceed with the FSC as originally planned. The FSC concept had grown continuously in size, tonnage, scope, capabilities, technology, sophistication and projected cost since its origin as simply the next class of frigate to succeed the Type 23.
After the Future Surface Combatant (FSC) program was restructured, three other projects were considered in its place, they are the Medium Sized Vessel Derivative, the Versatile Surface Combatant, and the Global Corvette. The project was reviewed together with all other military maritime programmes as part of the Maritime Coherence study, and a range of options was considered. The project was still in its concept phase and no decision had been taken about the time scale for delivering the FSC capability, nor about the platform solution.
The Type 23s were having a much easier life than originally planned, and would last into the 2020s if given appropriate mid-life upgrades. In August 2008 it was announced that they will receive the new Insyte Artisan 3D search radar. However the four remaining Type 22s would still need replacing between 2015-2020. Work on replacements continued, but at a low intensity. In March 2005, the plan was for a two-class solution, a cheaper Medium Sized Vessel Derivative entering service in 2016-9 and a more capable Versatile Surface Combatant entering service around 2023.
In November 2006 Naval design consultancy BMT Defence Services Ltd completed a Balance of Investment (BoI) study on a possible Future Surface Combatant warship for the Royal Navy. The Defence Procurement Agency's (DPA's) use of BMT, strengthens the company’s reputation and presence as a key player in supporting the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in determining the UK’s future fleet make up. "This was an excellent opportunity to help the DPA in providing a robust understanding of the cost and program risks involved with procuring complex warships. As one of the world’s leading independent naval design houses, our technical understanding matched with our knowledge of the art of the possible made us a unique MoD contractor in carrying out this work," says Roger Cooper, Managing Director of BMT Defence Services.
By early 2007 studies conducted under the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Sustained Surface Combatant Capability (S2C2) program formulated a three-tier plan to recapitalise the Royal Navy's (RN's) surface fleet through to 2035. The new strategy envisages a Future Surface Combatant (FSC) capability delivered by three distinct ship types, optimised for high-end warfighting, stabilisation operations and a miscellany of constabulary and minor war vessel tasks. The plan we have developed takes eight existing classes down to just three. In early 2008 QinetiQ signed an initial 11 month contract with the MOD as part of a £2m pilot study which will see a new joint MOD / industry naval ship design office established in Bristol, to be tasked with the design of complex naval ships for the Royal Navy, such as the Future Surface Combatant. The Naval Design Partnership (NDP), with its ‘rainbow team’ of talent, which includes Thales, BAE Systems, VT Group, Babcock and BMT, will allow greater innovation and pull-though of new technology and will cost effectively manage the translation of maritime capability requirements into warship product specifications. It will also enable MOD to reinforce in house Naval Architecture and related specialisms through a collaborative design approach.
In 2008 BMT Nigel Gee Ltd, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, introduced a new high-speed Pentamaran concept to the large yacht market, Project Véloce, a 130 meter long vessel capable of speeds of over 40 knots. Conventional stabilised monohulls typically require relatively deeply immersed and long sponsons to meet damaged stability requirements and these can incur significant resistance penalties. The Pentamaran overcomes this by having two pairs of sponsons; a very short and shallow pair aft and a forward pair clear of the static water surface. These forward sponsons only become immersed as the vessel heels, consequently stability characteristics are maintained with no resistance penalty.
In early 2009 BAE Systems unveiled a technology mast demonstrator designed for future warships, required to meet increasingly complex operational demands. The mast is a critical component of a modern warship and the technology mast demonstrator has been designed to combine long-range radar, numerous high power sensors and communications antennae and equipment in a way that minimises mutual interference. Other advantages of the mast are that it is light, tall, yet almost invisible (stealthy) to an enemy radar. The technology has been developed as a private venture by the company, in keeping with the MoD's Smart Procurement approach. The demonstrator mast will act as a test structure for the forthcoming Sampson radar to be installed in the Royal Navy's next class of Destroyer, the Type 45, for which Bae Systems is Prime Contractor. It is also is suitable for evaluation at sea on trials vessels such as the DERA trimaran. Although the technology is designed primarily for use in the next generation of British warships, Type 45 Destroyers, Future Carrier and Future Surface Combatant, it could also be incorporated into the current fleet to maintain their operational effectiveness. The new mast is designed to form a key component of the ship's upper superstructure. It comprises a steel substructure clad in advanced Fibre Reinforced Plastic composite panels, which incorporate radar-absorbing layers. Sensors are installed in interchangeable modules mounted within the cladding. The philosophy of this mast is intended to support future surface warship designs and retrofit to existing ships.
As of November 2008 the Future Surface Combatant program was scheduled to achieve initial gate approval in mid-2009, after which it will enter its assessment phase. at that time The first of the vessels was expected to enter service late in the next decade. It is departmental policy to release in-service dates only for those vessels for which the main investment decision has been taken. The Future Surface Combatant program has not yet reached this stage. However, on current plans, MoD expected the first vessel to enter service around the end of the next decade - 2018.
In February 2009 the Royal Navy took the first major step towards developing the next generation of warships with an agreement with BVT Surface Fleet to assist in the development phase. The joint maritime venture between BAE Systems and VT Group, which holds a monopoly over nearly all major naval projects, will work with the Navy to develop a concept for the Future Surface Combatant (FSC). BVT will lead the design and production of the FSCs, taking over responsibilities from the Naval Design Partnership.
| Principal Particulars | F5 Future Fast Flexible Frigate | Multirole Monohull Warship (MMW) |
| Proposed | 2007 | 2000 |
| Length overall | 181.5m | 156.9 meters |
| Maximum beam | 32.1m | 19.6 meters |
| Draft | 6.3m | 5.49 meters |
| Depth of Hull | 12.3 meters | |
| Displacement | 6339 tonnes | |
| Displacement (Deep) | 7290 Tonnes | |
| Displacement (Standard) | 6340 Tonnes | |
| Propulsion and Capacity |
1 x MT30 GT direct drive 2 x MT30 GTA (36MW) 2 x 32MW HTS motors 2 x 3MW auxiliary DGs 3 x 30MW water jets | |
| Fuel | 1000 tonnes | |
| Service Speed | 35kt | |
| Maximum Speed | 45kt | 30 knots @ 47.5MW |
| Range | 5500nm @ 35kt with one stop | 7000 Nm @ 18knots |
| Mission Duration | 60 days | |
| Maximum Activity Load | 3.9MW | |
| Normal Cruising Load | 2.8MW | |
| Payload |
• 64 VLS Silo in 2 modules • Fixed face multifunction phased array radar • EM main Gun and sided MC Guns • 2 x ILDS • 2 x SCG • Active Towed Array Sonar or SF delivery vehicle • Retractable hull-mounted sonar • CESM • CEC • 2 x Organic helicopter • Chinook-capable flightdeck | |
| Crew: | 105 | 170 + margin |
| Up to 230 | ||
| Cost | £ 241.93M |
