The Type 83 destroyer is a class of

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...

s which is planned to enter service with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in the late 2030s as a replacement for the current

Type 45 destroyer The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or ''Daring'' class, is a Ship class, class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for Anti-aircraft warfa ...

Background

The Royal Navy currently operates six

Type 45 destroyers The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or ''Daring'' class, is a class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile ...

, also known as the ''Daring'' class, which first entered service in 2009 and are planned to leave service between 2035 and 2037. They are used principally for

anti-air warfare Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air m ...

(AAW) and are equipped with the

Sea Viper The Principal Anti-Air Missile System (PAAMS) is a joint programme developed by France, Italy, and the United Kingdom for an integrated anti-aircraft warfare system. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam (66%) and U ...

air defence system to carry out this role. Sea Viper comprises the

SAMPSON Sampson may refer to: Military * , several Royal Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * Sampson-class destroyer, a World War I US Navy class * Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake, New York, closed in 1956 * SAMPSON, a multi-function radar ...

multi-function radar, a 48-cell

Sylver Vertical Launching System The Sylver (SYstème de Lancement VERtical) is a vertical launching system (VLS) designed by DCNS and introduced in 2001. Specifications The basic unit of Sylver VLS is an eight-cell module fitted with two rows of 56 cm. missile cells surroundi ...

(VLS) and

Aster Aster or ASTER may refer to: Biology * ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants ** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English * Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...

anti-air missiles. The ships have also been used outside of their specialist roles to carry out counter-piracy missions, counter-drug trafficking, maritime security patrols and humanitarian assistance.

Development

The class was first unveiled in March 2021 with the publication of the British government's defence

command paper A command paper is a document issued by the UK Government and presented to Parliament. White papers, green papers, treaties, government responses, draft bills, reports from Royal Commissions, reports from independent inquiries and various govern ...

, ''

Defence in a Competitive Age ''Defence in a Competitive Age'' is a Ministry of Defence command paper which was released on 22 March 2021. It provided details on changes to the armed forces to meet the requirements of the Integrated Review which was published before it on 16 ...

''. The class was mentioned in the context of the government's 2030 shipbuilding strategy and planned long-term investments. According to ''

The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D ...

'', the "8X" designation may suggest the ship will be more in line with the size and role of the

Type 82 destroyer The Type 82 or ''Bristol''-class destroyer was a 1960s Guided-missile destroyer, guided missile destroyer design intended to replace s in the Royal Navy. Originally eight warships were planned to provide area air-defence for the planned CVA-0 ...

, a large vessel which was sometimes described as a

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

and originally designed to escort the Royal Navy's last large fleet carriers, the cancelled

CVA-01 CVA-01 was a proposed United Kingdom aircraft carrier, designed during the 1960s. The ship was intended to be the first of a class that would replace all of the Royal Navy's carriers, most of which had been designed before or during the Second ...

s. No design specifics have yet been confirmed publicly, but the ship is expected to enter the concept phase in early 2022. In February 2022, the Ministry of Defence confirmed the ship would be designed to address the threat of

hypersonic missile Hypersonic weapons are weapons travelling at hypersonic speed – at between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound, about . Below such speeds, weapons would be characterized as subsonic or supersonic, while above such speeds, the molecules of the ...

References

Destroyer classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy Proposed ships of the Royal Navy United Kingdom defence procurement {{UK-destroyer-stub

Background

Development

See also

References