The Royal Navy has announced that the M-IAMDS (Maritime-Integrated Air and Missile Defense and Strike) programme, and the associated Type-83 destroyer (FADS: Future Air Dominance System), are on schedule. The FADS programme, of which the Type-83 is a central element, will give the Royal Navy an air and missile defence capability, as well as the ability to attack land targets from a distance, from the mid-2030s onwards. The Type-83, which entered the concept phase last March, will replace the Type-45 destroyers in service. The design of the Type-83 is not yet complete, as it is at a very early stage. However, the Royal Navy wants the ships to have leading air and missile defence capabilities, but also to incorporate new capabilities, such as hypersonic missiles and a laser weapon. The main objective of the FADS program is to create an anti-aircraft and anti-missile umbrella, through the networking of land, naval and air assets. Within this umbrella, the British Armed Forces will be able to operate safely.
According to the current planning of the British Navy, which was announced in January 2024, the sixth and last Type-45 will be withdrawn from service at the end of 2038, at the age of 25 years (the Type-45 entered service in the period 2009-2013). It should be noted that the initial plan called for the construction of 12 Type-45s, to replace the Type-42s, but ultimately their number was reduced by half. As for the basic sizes of the ships, the Type-83s will have a displacement of about 10,000 tons and a length of 170-180 meters. The configuration of the ships, in terms of sensors and weapons, has not yet been decided, but will follow the configuration of the Type-45 with an emphasis on increasing capabilities. Given the choice of the American vertical launchers Mk.41 VLS (Vertical Launch Systems) on the new Type-26 and Type-31 frigates, it is estimated that the Type-83s will also incorporate Mk.41, compared to the European Sylver that incorporates the Type-45. The Mk.41 can launch anti-aircraft and anti-missile missiles of the Standard Missile (SM) family, shorter-range RIM-162 ESSM (Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile), in quads in each cell, as well as BGM-109 Tomahawk land-based missiles.
The Mk.41 can also launch the British CAMM (Common Anti-air Modular Missile) family of missiles and the FC/ASW (Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon) anti-land and naval missiles under development, which are being developed jointly by Great Britain, France and Italy. As for the number of cells, the most likely minimum number of cells will be 72. Currently, the Type-45s incorporate 48 Sylver cells to which another 24 will be added, as part of the mid-life upgrade program of the ships. The 48 cells of the initial configuration use Aster-15/30 missiles, while the additional 24 cells will use CAMM (Sea Ceptor) missiles. It is not excluded that the British Navy may choose to install more than 72 cells for greater firepower. The ships’ projected displacement of 10,000 tons allows for this. As for anti-ship missiles, the most likely option is 8-16 NSM (Naval Strike Missile), which have been selected as replacements for the RGM-84 Harpoon of the Type-23 frigates. What is certain is that the Type-83s will incorporate a laser weapon, most likely the Dragon Fire, which is currently under development and is expected to enter service in 2027.
The main gun of the Type-83 is expected to be the BAE Systems Mk.45, 127/62 mm, while the installation of other guns and machine guns of various calibers, as well as close-in missile defense systems, is not excluded. In the design of the Type-83, special emphasis will be placed on reducing the ship’s footprint. This will be done both at the hull and superstructure design level (construction material, inclination angles, etc.), and at the propulsion level (reduction of acoustic footprint). In any case, it has been announced that the Type-83 will incorporate a conventional propulsion system and will not be nuclear-powered ships. The most likely propulsion combination for the Type-83 is expected to be a Rolls-Royce MT30 turbofan engine, German MTU diesel engines and electric motors, i.e. a CODLAG (Combined Diesel-Electric and Gas) combination, which has been selected for the Type-26 frigates. As for the main sensors, the choices are between British systems or American ones. Currently, the Type-45 and Type-26 incorporate the Type-1045/1046 (SAMPSON) and Type-997 Artisan radars respectively. The Type-1045 and Type-1046 radars are of AESA (Active Electronically Scanning Array) technology and constitute an alternative to the Type-83, probably in a newer and more capable version. The American systems that could be integrated into the Type-83 are the Aegis battle management system and the AN/SPY-6(v) radar, of AESA technology.
