UK Swaps Type 45 Destroyer Successors for Hybrid Drone Motherships

The UK will replace its Type 45 Daring-class guided-missile destroyers with six warships designed to operate unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater systems under the government’s latest Defense Investment Plan.

The platforms, called the Common Combat Vessel (CCV), are expected to enter service in the early 2030s and substitute the Type 83 destroyers previously planned to succeed the Type 45s.

Funding under the defense strategy will commence design work for the new class, which the government frames as a shift toward a hybrid fleet that leverages manned-unmanned teaming instead of “concentrating capability in a small number of large, expensive ships.”

CCV Functions

London said the CCVs will act as the Royal Navy’s command hubs for multi-domain drones while amplifying air defense and extending operational coverage “without a proportional increase in crew or cost.”

Once commissioned, the series will be fielded alongside eight Type 26 City-class frigates, five Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates, and a swarm of autonomous solutions, including the Type 91 surface-to-air missile barge, Type 92 underwater sensing vessel, Type 93 submarine, and Type 94 surface sensing vessel.

The program also supports Britain’s new maritime initiatives, particularly the Atlantic Bastion, Atlantic Shield, and Atlantic Strike, which respond to Russian activity in the North Atlantic and High North, securing subsurface infrastructure, and bolstering NATO’s collective force.

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis commented on the move, highlighting that the CCVs are “designed and built for the increasing threats we face.”

“Developed with exceptional British innovators, the new ships will be British-built, supporting jobs across the nation and giving the Royal Navy a capability built for modern warfare,” he added.