The UK government has scrapped plans to develop the Type 83 destroyer and will instead procure at least six smaller 'common combat vessels' — described as hybrid, drone-equipped warships — to replace the Royal Navy's fleet of Type 45 destroyers, with deliveries expected from the early 2030s. The decision, set to be formalised in an upcoming defence investment plan, marks a significant shift in British naval procurement strategy, replacing a class of large, high-capability guided-missile destroyers with a smaller, hybrid drone-integrated alternative.
Sky News reported the move as a cost-driven decision, describing the new vessels as 'budget warships' under an investment plan that seeks to rearm the military for less cash than officers say they need. Bloomberg and the BBC emphasised the modernisation angle, pointing to the government's commitment to investing in modern drone-equipped vessels as a defining feature of the new programme.
BAE Systems (BA.L) and Babcock International (BAB.L) are the two primary UK warship builders previously linked to Type 26-related programmes. No contractor has been confirmed for the new common combat vessel. Spanish shipbuilder Navantia is among those understood to be active in the adjacent market, having bid to build six Multi-Role Strike Ships that the UK government wants delivered by the mid-2030s. BAE Systems has made substantial recent commitments to UK naval shipbuilding, opening a shipbuilding hall in Glasgow large enough to construct two 150-metre Type 26 frigates side-by-side — a £300 million investment. Babcock has invested more than £200 million in its Rosyth shipyard in Scotland over the past decade. The Ministry of Defence has separately awarded BAE Systems a £4.2 billion contract to manufacture the next five City Class Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy in Glasgow.
The Type 83 had been in planning as a guided-missile destroyer intended to enter Royal Navy service in the mid-to-late 2030s as a direct replacement for the six Daring-class Type 45 destroyers, the first of which entered service in 2009. The Type 45 fleet is principally configured for anti-air warfare, equipped with the Sea Viper air defence system, comprising the SAMPSON multi-function AESA radar and a 48-cell Sylver vertical launch system, and was planned to leave service by 2038. At DSEI 2023, First Sea Lord Sir Ben Key described the Future Air Dominance System as the replacement to the Type 45 destroyer and 'a system of systems designed to be dominant in air defence and long-range precision strike.' The UK signed a £10 billion deal with Norway in September to build at least five Type 26 frigates [Source: gCaptain], with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying he hoped the order would be 'the first of many' [Source: gCaptain].
Sources: Bloomberg, BBC News, Sky News, gCaptain, BAE Systems, Wikipedia