The Ministry of Defence has declined to provide timelines for either Initial Operating Capability or Full Operating Capability for the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System on Royal Navy warships, telling Parliament that in-service dates will be confirmed in due course, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The written answer, given by Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard on 21 May in response to a question from Ben Obese-Jecty MP for Huntingdon, stated that the MoD “continues to progress integration of the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System across relevant platforms” but that in-service dates “remain subject to ongoing programme delivery, integration activity, and approval processes, and will be confirmed in due course.”
The Mk 41 is one of the most widely used missile launch systems in the world, in service across the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, and a growing number of NATO allies. Capable of firing a broad range of weapons from a single launcher, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, Standard Missiles for air and ballistic missile defence, and anti-submarine weapons, it offers a flexibility that the Royal Navy’s current Sylver launcher on the Type 45 destroyer does not.
Both the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates are confirmed to receive the system. The Type 26 City-class will carry 24 Mk 41 cells, with BAE Systems awarding Lockheed Martin a contract for their supply back in 2018. The Type 31 Inspiration-class will carry 32 cells across four eight-cell modules, with the ships already being built with the structural foundations to accommodate them.
The Mk 41 cells will not be installed when the ships first enter service, however. Instead, Babcock secured a £65 million contract in April 2025 for a Capability Insertion Period, under which the launchers will be fitted during a planned upgrade window in the early 2030s. Design changes required to the first two Type 31 hulls to accommodate the future VLS installation contributed to a £140 million charge on the programme contract that Babcock disclosed earlier this month.
Given that there’s not many (if any) UK weapons to put into them i suppose there’s not quite so much urgency.
It would be nicer to see an ” adequate” amount of sea-Ceptor silos and 8x NSM fitted on completion however..
AA. ( without expanding on the wish list)