Repulse wrote: ↑15 May 2022, 12:47
By not building the T32…
What is a T32? Could they be the same thing?
For example, most expect the T32 to be an escort with both ASW and land attack capabilities that is also capable of operating next generation UAV’s, UUV’s and USV’s plus a single helicopter. Likely budget around £500m per hull or £2.5bn for a class of 5 with construction to start in 2025/2026.
The reason drones are constantly linked with LHDs and LPHs is because they are pre-existing vessels that are currently in the water. Perhaps as unmanned technology matures their host vessel design will evolve also.
Starting with a clean sheet of paper is an adapted £500m Absalon really the best use of the money?
Is it really worth spending £80m to £100m on each Mk45 gun and auto ammo handling system to provide NGS?
Is the Frigate with 2087, SSN and P8 still the most efficient and cost effective way to conduct ASW?
Can an Absalon sized vessel actually operate the next generation of unmanned systems in all sea states without major modification and/or a well dock or flat top?
IMO adding a NGS and land attack capability to a modified T31 whilst also increasing the CAMM load out, fitting additional Mk41 cells plus maximising USV and UUV operational capability will push the budget well beyond the £500m per hull target. I expect a hull will disappear and the final price will be more than £600m or more. The cost of any unmanned systems would obviously be a further additional cost.
Whilst RN would dearly love such a vessel it really looks like a cheap copy of the T26. Simple duplication.
What if a truly radical approach was taken and the next generation of escort with land attack and ASW capabilities was designed from the beginning as an unmanned mothership with a modest flight deck and well dock but separate to the UK’s Amphibious fleet. Conflating the two requirements may be muddling the issue.
If the NGS and land attack requirement was fulfilled by STOL drones and the ASW requirement was fulfilled by a combination of STOL drones and XLUUVs then the initial procurement costs of the five vessels could be vastly reduced. The main cost would actually be in the unmanned systems which could be transferred between vessels depending on where in the world they were required at any one time.
The CAMM load out could be provided by PODS and as such could be infinitely scalable. Expensive systems such as the Mk45 and Mk41 together with a combined AShM/Land attack missile would not be required. Manpower intensive systems such as 2087 would also not be required. This would amount to very large savings both in procurement and ongoing operating costs.
https://www.flightglobal.com/military-u ... 72.article
A flight deck of around 170m would be required to safely launch a STOL drone without a catapult so a vessel with the dimensions of a Bay Class roughly 175m x 26m would seem ideal. A floodable well dock would be a prerequisite with an overhead gantry crane capable of lifting 50t to 60t also required. A large hanger with twin lifts up to the flight deck would also be required along with suitably protected magazines for munitions.
The vessels could be very lightly crewed unless large numbers of drones were embarked unlike a traditional Frigate and no allowance would would need to be made for an enlarged EMF, medical facilities or large numbers of helicopters.
Five such simple vessels could be easily procured for around £1.75bn if build standards replicated HMS Ocean. The complicated technology is in the unmanned systems, not the vessel itself.
What unmanned systems RN may ultimately chose is very difficult to predict at present but it’s clear the rest of the world is forging ahead whilst the UK dithers with seemingly endless evaluation programmes that seem to only ever result in more burned cash.
https://baykartech.com/en/bayraktar-tb3/
https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted-aircraft/mojave
https://www.ga-asi.com/remotely-piloted ... eaguardian
https://www.boeing.com/defense/autonomo ... index.page
IMO RN has a massive opportunity here to do something truly ground breaking and effective not least by procuring a game changing capability on- time and on-budget that could revolutionise how the UK’s armed forces operate going forward.