The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a Request for Information (RfI) in mid-December 2024 to gain a clearer understanding of the current maritime capabilities available for its Future Air Dominance System (FADS) programme.
Speaking with suppliers, the government aims to flesh out FADS through numerous one-to-one sessions in its second market engagement event over three days at the end of Janaury 2025.
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At present, the MoD suggests that this Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) concept will employ a ‘system-of systems’ approach, combining various diasggregated sensors and effectors in the battlespace.
Besides naval aircraft, weapons, and emerging uncrewed systems, at the centre of this integrated network are the future Type 83 destroyers that are scheduled to replace the Royal Navy’s six existing Type 45 warships in the late 2030s.
In particular, the RfI also points to innovation in Long Range Precision Strike (LRPS) capabilities to overcome “the hardest of targets in air, land, and maritime domains.”
Armed to the teeth
A new range of maritime threats faced over the past few years will doubtless shape the solutions embedded in the FADS. However, it must be noted that the Type 83 destroyer is in a pre-conceptual stage so any solutions are speculative.
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By GlobalDataNevertheless, William Freer, National Security fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, a think tank, observes growing threats from various aerial weapons.
“Warships over the last two decades were operating in a relatively benign environment and were equipped to do so. This is no longer the case.”
William Freer, Council on Geostrategy.
“The maritime component of FADS will have to contend with small but growing numbers of hypersonic missiles, the proliferation of anti-ship ballistic missiles, the potential of large saturation attacks by cruise missiles, as well as the potential of drone swarms,” he observed.
“One thing is becoming clear, warships over the last two decades were operating in a relatively benign environment and were equipped to do so. This is no longer the case. But the Royal Navy has not been sitting still.
“Although developing shipborne ballistic missile defences (BMD) has been slow, the missile defences will be significantly upgraded in the coming years,” suggested Freer.
By the end of the decade Type 45 destroyers should each receive an extra 24 missile cells (taking the total to 72) as well as BMD capability.
Depending on how the Type 26’s Mk41 VLS cells are loaded it could carry more than double the missiles (and a greater variety of missiles) than the current Type 23.
It has also been decided that the Type 31 will be equipped with up to 32 Mk41 cells instead of the original plan of just eight cells for Sea Ceptor missiles.
Red Sea crisis
Nowhere are these threats more prevalent than in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In 2023-4, the Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond and Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, have respectively operated in the Red Sea as part of an allied force under Operation Prosperity Guardian to defend maritime shipping against Houthi strikes in the crucial chokepoint.
There is a considerable cost gap between Sea Viper/Ceptor and attritable uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). For that reason, the Royal Navy has made good progress with a cheaper counter-UAS solution with its development of a directed-energy weapon system, DragonFire, which will be fielded by 2027.
While the programme cost the MoD £100m ($125m), the government noted after the success of its demonstrator that the cost of operating the weapon is typically less than £10 per shot.
What will the surface fleet look like?
Recent research suggests that the Royal Navy will need to determine how it will disperse its capabilities across the surface fleet, especially when it comes to deciding what platform will take on the role of a ‘radar picket’ to get the most efficient response times against aerial threats.
However, this must also be considered within the context of a reduced force structure. Due to the decommissioning of several ships in 2024 and the capability gaps to come, the Royal Navy will be operating a more nimble service with ships operating a persistent forward presence around the world.
While little can be said about Type 83, major decisions regarding other surface fleet programmes are expected to come in the spring with the release of the all-encompassing Strategic Defence Review according to the Minister of Defence Procurement, Maria Eagle, in a parliamentary written response on 9 January 2025.
