The future Type 83 destroyer programme remains under review, with the Ministry of Defence confirming that progress toward a formal business case is now dependent on both the Hybrid Navy Strategy and the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
In a written parliamentary answer published on 27 January, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the Type 83 concept is “currently under review against the Royal Navy’s Hybrid Navy Strategy,” adding that future business case approval “remains subject to the Defence Investment Plan.”
The response follows earlier answers in which the government had indicated that the Outline Business Case for Type 83 was expected to be submitted in June 2026. That timeline has not been withdrawn, but the latest wording signals that the programme is no longer proceeding in isolation and is now being assessed as part of a broader restructuring of future naval capability.
Previous parliamentary answers describe Type 83 as forming part of the wider Future Air Dominance System, or FADS, a programme intended to replace the Type 45 destroyers in the long term. Pollard has previously said that FADS “will feature a combination of crewed and uncrewed platforms in a hybrid fleet formation,” incorporating next-generation radars, new combat management systems, advanced effectors and new communications technologies.
That system-of-systems approach also includes uncrewed surface combatants such as the Type 91 “missile ship,” alongside the advanced, minimally or optionally crewed Type 83 itself. According to the Ministry of Defence, the destroyer is currently planned to enter service from the mid-2030s and is assumed to have a service life of around 25 years.
BAE unveils warship concepts: faster, leaner, more firepower
However, ministers have repeatedly declined to confirm how many Type 83 destroyers will be built, stating that fleet numbers will only be determined at the Full Business Case stage. In earlier answers, Pollard said “the number of Type 83s will be confirmed by the Full Business Case,” reinforcing that no production commitment has yet been made.
The latest response suggests that even reaching that point now depends on strategic choices still being finalised. Decisions on Type 83 will be shaped by wider questions around crewed and uncrewed balance, affordability, and long-term force structure rather than a straightforward replacement of Type 45.
The Defence Investment Plan, expected later this year, hopefully, is increasingly emerging as the gatekeeper for multiple major programmes. Until that plan is published, the future scale, pace and configuration of the Type 83 programme remains unresolved.
If I can kick this off…why not less emphasis on the T91s and put all their earmarked mk41s and 40mm onto a few more T31s or a extra T26 or the T83s? For now to next 5 years anyway. How many T91s does the RN need or want and when?
Please don’t throw away numbers of good ships to get drones. That’s all I ask of them.
I would say reading between the lines that the T83 has two hopes of seeing the water, no hope and bob hope and he is dead. So what will replace the T45’s in the next decade a row boat with a manpad towed behind the aircraft carrier.
If politicians waffle could somehow be militarised UK would have the most formidable defence forces on the planet.
Statements full of nothing !
Given the way the government manages the RN, I think a service life of 30+ years should be assumed and planned for. It seems to be the new norm.
If the type 91 is happening then the only need for a big destroyer with a large radar in a task force is for ballistic missile defence. One type 83 with three type 91 will probably provide a far superior defence to two T45’s.
If I kept saying to my wife, purchase any new clothes is the subject of a “clothes investment plan” which would be due sometime I would be divorced by now, this government is clearly divorced from reality…. I will get my coat 🙂
Shorthand, or actually long winded hand for “it ain’t happening”
Another cost saving exercise that will become more expensive…..
We have carriers that will need defending by ships that can travel over 30 kts. Will Type 91 be suitable for a carrier strike group?
In other words the Government told the MOD to go away and finder a cheaper option that makes it look like we are not making more cuts
So no T83 and drones R us is the future
“According to the Ministry of Defence, the destroyer is currently planned to enter service from the mid-2030s and is assumed to have a service life of around 25 years.”
How is this possible? Won’t we still be building T26s into the mid-2030s? Not to mention less than ten years to finalise design, budget, build and test a complete new class.
Dare I say it (!), but the Darings could surely serve into the 2040s. How about we order a couple more T26s and T31s to keep the yards going, get surface numbers near to where they should (T31 with CEC could add missile tubes to pad out the CSG, act as point defence) while we work out what T83/T91 should be, how they will work etc
Why don’t they just save the bother. Build the Canadian T26 with the Bae render of 64 VLS cells instead of the mission bay. It means SPY and Aegis, but for a handful of ships the only benefit of a bespoke UK radar is for the shareholders. At least it would be in common with the Canadian navy.