My honest view is that the T31 should have been optimised for ASW acting as the CSG/CASD escorts, this freeing up the T26s for their “Global Combat” role.SW1 wrote: ↑18 May 2022, 10:47 But is it enormous, and is it the right ship to have it. The rate with which tech is moving suggests the boats will be longer and heavier than type 26 can accommodate before it even enters service and some of the concepts require more numerous boats than just a couple. Add to that the fact type 26 is pottering about in a larger task group and you would need to ask why your principal asw asset needs the ability to launch a couple of extra ribs?
As mentioned years ago the type 31 concept is what type 26 should of been and the bay class is what type 31 should of been.
However, it’s not to be, and I would say having a mission bay for manned / unmanned force protection boats is a requirement so I’m not overly concerned.
Equally, I would say that there still is a need for more than 14 AAW/ASW escorts for CASD, the two CBG and two LPD assets so the T31 IMO just needs to be built fully equipped.