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Type 83 destroyer

The government’s Defence Industrial Strategy promised up to five Type 32 frigates and a new class Type 83 destroyer but no further details on these ships’ designs and roles have been provided. The Type 83 remains at the concept stage, and may have a broader tasking than the current Type 45s. This would be an ambitious upgrade of existing naval capabilities which would reinforce the strategic direction signaled in the Integrated Review. It has been speculated that the Type 80 designation implies that the ship is likely to be a large destroyer. HMS Bristol, the sole Type 82 destroyer, had both AAW and ASW weaponry and was a very large destroyer for her time (7,100 tonnes).

Strategic and long-term investment will increase the capability of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet and allow the development of the concept and assessment phase for new Type 83 destroyer which will begin to replace Type 45 destroyers in the late 2030s. As of 2020 Under current plans, the RN’s six Type 45 destroyers commissioned between 2009-13 would leave service between 2035 and 2038. The government anticipated as of 2021 that the concept phase for Type 83 to begin in the next few years with the assessment phase following.

Despite claims of a transition from the industrial to the digital age, the requirement for platforms that a sailor from a century ago might recognise will not be disappearing over the next two decades. However, there will be enhanced by a digital backbone that will enable the whole to become greater than the sum of its parts via cross-domain operations. Plans in train to sustain surface-ships focused on anti-submarine warfare (Type 26 frigates) and-air warfare (Type 83 destroyers), attack submarines (SSN(R)) and ballistic missile submarines (Dreadnought-class) reflect the continuing need for such platforms at the high-intensity end of the spectrum.

The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) noted that the shipbuilding strategy was intended to spur a renaissance in UK shipbuilding. However, rather than securing the existing skills base there have been a series of unnecessary delays and procurement processes which are not designed to provide certainty to the sector. By 2020 there were two UK-led shipbuilding companies that both have experience of leading multi-employer consortium do deliver first in class military vessels. The government needed to clearly signal that yards on the Clyde and Rosyth will lead the design and manufacture of the Type 32 and Type 83.

To achieve the ambition of delivering a Type 83 destroyer by the mid-2030s the government needs to progress to the concept phase of the project as soon as is practical. This will help to identify the requirements that can be delivered in the timeframe set by the government and ensure there is no loss of capability as the Type 45 ships are retired. To retain a highly skilled workforce with a steady stream of work following on from the Type 26 the government needed to provide a clear program of work that links existing plans to future developments. This will allow the progressive development of skills and the upgrading of warship design to the next generation.

The next generation of ships will need to reduce emissions as part of the defence contribution to the UK’s net zero by 2050 target. Defence accounts for 50% of the UK central Government’s emissions. This will present some specific challenges. The design will harness novel technologies which further build resilience and further reduce emissions.

The challenge in the concept phase will be identifying what capabilities are required. The structure of the ship will need to accommodate different weapon designs such as, air defence, anti-ballistic capabilities and land attack missiles. A more ambitious design which uses Directed Energy Weapons, would require sufficient power generation capacity to deliver this capability. A key decision point in the procurement of the Type 83 will be reached in the second part of the 2020s. As the concept phase transitions to the design phase, the budget envelope for the Type 83 will become clearer.

Current shipbuilding plans assume eight Type 26 combat ships, five Type 31 frigates and a further five Type 32 frigates. The Type 83 will begin to replace the Type 45 in the mid-2030s, however it is not clear from the Integrated Review, whether this will be on a like for like basis.

Previous procurements have been hampered by underfunding, decision delays, the cancellation of previous plans and the shrinking of the naval fleet. There is a risk that these familiar patterns could re-emerge if future plans are not properly resourced. The concept phase should be used to clarify the class of ships that will replace the Type 45 with an assurance that the projected size of the Royal Navy will not be reduced to pay for the Type 83.