United Kingdom to Increase Combat Vessel Fleet by 78%

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom may increase the number of destroyers and frigates from 14 to 25 vessels.

UK Defence Journal reported on this, citing The Sunday Times ahead of the launch of the government’s new Strategic Defence Review.

This is expected to be the largest expansion of the surface escort fleet in decades.

In response to global threats, the United Kingdom intends to increase the number of surface combat vessels to 25, which will help offset years of reductions and strengthen its maritime presence within NATO.

The fleet currently consists of 14 ships, including Type 45 destroyers and Type 23 frigates. Meanwhile, construction is underway for new Type 26 and Type 31 frigates, along with the development of the advanced Type 83 destroyer.

The government plans to support shipbuilding and ensure sustainable defense capabilities, so strengthening the surface fleet will bring numerous benefits to local manufacturing capacities.

It is worth noting that the Type 26 frigates are being built to replace the anti-submarine Type 23 frigates, which currently no longer meet the Royal Navy’s operational requirements due to aging.

Despite this, the construction pace of the Type 26 frigates remains slow, as building a single ship takes over 6–8 years, and the lead ship is not expected to be commissioned into the fleet until 10 years after construction began.

Meanwhile, the construction of the Type 31 frigates is progressing at a faster pace: the hull of the lead frigate, HMS Venture, took 4 years to complete. According to the Babcock International Group plc, the outfitting of the frigate will take 12 months, after which it will be commissioned into the fleet.

These accelerated timelines are partly due to the ship’s lighter armament, as the UK Ministry of Defence has yet to sign a contract for the purchase of vertical launch systems, which are to be installed on the Type 31 ships.

Instead, the first three ships will be equipped with vertical launch systems for CAMM missiles, removed from the Type 23 frigates. According to an official video from the company, each ship will have 12–18 GWS 35 vertical launch systems installed.

Militarnyi previously reported that the British shipbuilding company BAE Systems MNS had expanded its production capacity to accelerate the construction of the Type 26 frigates.

Under the new strategy, starting in 2025, ships will be built much faster than planned. First of all, the construction time will be reduced from 96 to 60 months from the moment the steel is cut to the commissioning.

In addition, the gap between ship construction will be reduced from 18 to 12 months, which will allow for faster laying of new hulls.