Type 32 never really existed, at least according to a friend in the RN - it was a typo that became an imaginary program in common discussion but it never really had legs.
The Royal Navy Discussions and Updates
- Thread starter overlander
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Not just a warm-over, they are Type 31 hulls with different systems.
See Babcock’s ARMOR poised to deliver Royal Navy’s Autonomous Ambition on Command - Babcock International Group for the concept Babcock proposed for it for Hybrid Navy last year.
The RN scrapping of the type83 in favour of a drone motherships doesn’t really surprise me.The idea of a drone mothership surrounded by uninhabited missile barges seems much more sensible to me than Trump’s battleship proposal.
www.navylookout.com
BAE Systems’ large uncrewed warship proposal - Navy Lookout
As part of the Royal Navy's Future Air Dominance System (FADS) concept, BAE Systems has proposed low-cost, rapidly-built uncrewed/ minimally crewed vessels to supplement the Type 83 destroyer. Drawing on the legacy of the Triton trimaran demonstrator built for the RN in 2000, the proposed...
www.navylookout.com
Most key points covered here.
The only ones I would add is the maturity of these proposed systems at scale and the corresponding execution risks.
No doubt USVs are going to be a significant element in the future but CONOPS, operating cost are evolving. Is this the right time to make it the center piece of RN 2040?
www.navylookout.com
The only ones I would add is the maturity of these proposed systems at scale and the corresponding execution risks.
No doubt USVs are going to be a significant element in the future but CONOPS, operating cost are evolving. Is this the right time to make it the center piece of RN 2040?
All in on the hybrid navy – the Royal Navy’s surface fleet gamble - Navy Lookout
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will confirm the RN’s most significant shift in surface warfare for decades. Rather than replacing the Type 45 destroyer with another generation of large air defence ships, the RN intends to build a distributed force of crewed and uncrewed vessels designed to...
www.navylookout.com
OldTex
Well-Known Member
The RN has to start developing the CONOPS, as well as the knowledge and experience of operating a hybrid fleet. It has to start some time and sooner would be better than later. It will be an iterative process of many small steps, all building on the successes and failures of the previous iterations. That is how it will become the centerpiece of the RN (although maybe not by 2040)Most key points covered here.
The only ones I would add is the maturity of these proposed systems at scale and the corresponding execution risks.
No doubt USVs are going to be a significant element in the future but CONOPS, operating cost are evolving. Is this the right time to make it the center piece of RN 2040?
All in on the hybrid navy – the Royal Navy’s surface fleet gamble - Navy Lookout
The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will confirm the RN’s most significant shift in surface warfare for decades. Rather than replacing the Type 45 destroyer with another generation of large air defence ships, the RN intends to build a distributed force of crewed and uncrewed vessels designed to...
OldTex
Well-Known Member
If the proposed Type 91/92/94s are going to be optionally manned, there will be a whole new range of CONOPS to be developed and evolved. The other aspect that will need attention is the legal aspects (e.g. are they warships or not, the status of any crew during conflict, navigation and operation in confined or congested waters, "salvage", etc).
The 32 never actually existed , except as a likely mistake by Boris which was then grabbed by the RN and MoD, and Boris never had the guts to admit he had made a mistake in a speech.
They are betting an awful lot on being right here - they might well be, but the bleeding edge of technology is always a challenging place to be. Most projects fail in that area, at least early in the technology’s life, which this still is wrt drones capable of oceanic deployment. Seen as a bold move if successful, lunacy if not! Must admit, if it was to be done I would prefer to have seen it with a Naval officer as 1SL, not a Bootie. Better optics if nothing else; and I have a niggling worry that he doesn’t have the gut understanding of oceanic warfare that an NO would have.
Given that the first Type 26 (along with other ills in RN) have been in the fitting out phase since 2023, I am skeptical.that something this ambitious and far out can executed or even followed thru.
Most other Navies (example Italy, Japan, Australia) are going for larger platforms, more platforms while USV remain exploratory.
Welp, what do I know. Maybe RN will have their new HMS Dreadnought moment again.
Most other Navies (example Italy, Japan, Australia) are going for larger platforms, more platforms while USV remain exploratory.
Welp, what do I know. Maybe RN will have their new HMS Dreadnought moment again.