Not so long ago, the Naval Analyzes resource, widely known in narrow circles, dealing with issues of the naval forces, presented its vision of the future of the Royal Navy. It must be said that the experts did not discover America. Nevertheless, the presented graph may be of interest to people who are not indifferent to these questions. Earlier, by the way, experts of Naval Analyzes have already presented a detailed analysis of the submarine and surface forces of the countries of the Old and New World. Now let's take a closer look at what exactly we are talking about.
Surface forces
The Royal Navy's tactical potential in the future will be based on two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. This is twice as much as in Russia: if, of course, the Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser is generally considered a full-fledged aircraft carrier. However, with the British ships, too, not everything is smooth, but more on that later.
To begin with, the British can be congratulated on the commissioning last year of the lead ship of this type - the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08). And at the end of September 2018, two fifth-generation F-35B fighters boarded the new aircraft carrier, which was located off the coast of the United States. And here the main possible disadvantage is hidden. As you know, after some hesitation, the British abandoned the use of launching catapults, finally choosing the springboard scheme, which almost automatically excludes the takeoff from the deck of heavy aircraft.
It would seem, what problems can there be in the presence of "invisible" in the air group? The fact is that the combat radius of the F-35B shortened take-off and vertical landing is a modest 800 kilometers. At the same time, having a much larger combat radius - more than 1000 kilometers - the F-35C is now "inaccessible" without a radical redesign of the ships, which Britain most likely will not do. By the way, the second aircraft carrier - HMS Prince of Wales (R09) - should be commissioned in 2020. It won't be long to wait.
Further down the list of surface ships on the graph, you can see the Type 45 destroyers, also known as the Daring-class destroyers, on behalf of the lead ship, HMS Daring. The British planned six of them and all six have already been built. The first was transferred to the fleet in 2009.
These ships are the largest and most powerful air defense destroyers in the UK. It is important to say that they do not carry strike weapons, but in theory, destroyers can be equipped with long-range cruise missiles. The basis of the Daring's weapons is PAAMS anti-aircraft missile systems, which, in theory, can destroy air targets at a distance of more than 80 kilometers using Aster-15 and Aster-30 missiles.
Let's go back a little. As you know, aircraft carriers of the Queen Elizabeth class have very symbolic defensive armament. To defeat air targets, the ship has three Phalanx CIWS anti-aircraft artillery complexes. Roughly speaking, it is defenseless against air attacks if carrier-based fighters do not have time to take off. In this sense, the British Navy of the future is seen as a kind of "Lego". Where ships of the same type by themselves (outside the aircraft carrier strike group) will not be of particular value, and the risk of their loss will be very high. The Falklands War is a good example of the importance of an integrated approach in the design of warships. But, in general, whether the British are right or not - only time will tell.
We also note that in 2017, The Sunday Times wrote that the new British destroyers rumble "like a box of wrenches" and can be heard by submarines a hundred miles away. However, such sharp attacks on one or another type of military equipment must also be treated with caution. Everywhere there are stakeholders who want to denigrate one side or the other.
Next on the list of large surface ships are the Type 26 frigates, which are shown as City Class in the picture. A total of eight are planned: so far, none of these ships have been completed. By itself, this eight is designed to replace thirteen Type 23 frigates. So far, it is rather difficult to say anything concrete, except that these will be large warships with a standard displacement of about 7000 tons. It is planned to use Tomahawk cruise missiles in Mk 41 launchers as tactical strike weapons. In addition, it is possible to use the latest European supersonic anti-ship missile CVS401. Supplied with good anti-aircraft weapons and an acoustically low-noise hull, which increases the chances in the fight against submarines.
In general, everything looks good from the outside, but there are some concerns. Knowing the approach of the British leadership, it cannot be ruled out that some of the functions will be made purely optional and, possibly, will be abandoned altogether. However, prior to commissioning, it is better to refuse "fortune-telling on the coffee grounds". It will be more correct.
In addition, on the graph presented by Naval Analyzes, you can see five small frigates Type 31 or General Purpose Frigate (GPFF), the fate of which in the light of financial cuts is seen as very, very ambiguous. Well, in the very right corner there are five River-class Batch 2 patrol ships. We will talk about them sometime later.
Submarines
It is noteworthy that, according to Naval Analyzes, Britain will completely abandon four Vanguard-class strategic submarines in the foreseeable future, as well as the remaining Trafalgar-class multipurpose submarines. In general, it is logical, given that the first of the "Trafalgar" began to operate back in 1983. The only British multipurpose boat of the future will be the Astyut-class submarine. At least three of these boats are already in the fleet.
However, it seems to us that the organization's specialists were in a hurry with the Vanguards. Suffice it to say that Vanguard boats with Trident II D5 (UGM-133A) missiles are now the only British nuclear deterrent. At the same time, all four planned strategic submarines of the Dreadnought class are yet to be built. Currently, work continues on the construction of the first submarine of this class and the second such submarine has been laid.
With all the technical risks, Britain does not plan to save on strategic forces. In December last year, it became known that the country will provide an additional 400 million pounds sterling for the Dreadnought program. “This 400 million investment guarantees the implementation of the program. We will have a system of nuclear deterrence at sea for decades. This funding will help not only create 8,000 jobs right now, but also create a new complex for the training of engineers for the British submarine fleet, - said British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson.
True, there is one "but" here as well. The Dreadnought will receive twelve Trident missiles instead of the sixteen that Vanguard has. For comparison, the not new American Ohio-class submarine in the strategic version carries 24 Trident II D5 missiles. But this is an absolute record holder among such submarines, and besides, it is a legacy of the Cold War. When money for defense was hardly counted.
In general, the British fleet of the future can be called "economical". It will not be able to compare in its combat potential not only with the American, but also with the Chinese. On the other hand, Britain's navy will remain one of the strongest in Europe for decades to come. Not the greatest, but still an achievement.
