UK to invest in drone-equipped vessels, scrapping Type 83 destroyer plan

Britain will buy at least six Common Combat Vessels to command uncrewed systems in the air, on the surface and under the sea, abandoning plans for a Type 83 destroyer to replace the Royal Navy’s ageing Type 45s. The new vessels are expected to arrive from the early 2030s, while the six Type 45 destroyers are due to retire by the end of 2038.

The 2025 Strategic Defence Review puts Britain in a new era of threat, cites Russia’s war in Europe and argues that lessons from Ukraine are changing the shape of naval combat. That shift is tied to the government’s pledge to lift defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3% in the next Parliament if economic and fiscal conditions allow.

The Common Combat Vessels are intended to act as command hubs for uncrewed air, surface and undersea systems, and they will work alongside crewed frigates and other autonomous vessels. Britain will depend on the Type 45s for longer, even though they remain the backbone of carrier strike air defence.

The Navy has already spent heavily to keep the Type 45s relevant. In 2021, the government approved a £500 million upgrade package that introduced the Sea Ceptor, also known as the Common Anti-Air Modular Missile, refreshed the Aster 30 missile system and added a 24-missile CAMM silo to each ship. The upgrade lifted each destroyer’s anti-air missile capacity to 72.

John Healey resigned as Defence Secretary on 11 June 2026 after calling the Defence Investment Plan “well short” of what was needed, and General Sir Richard Barrons warned that failing to fully fund the Strategic Defence Review would leave Britain less safe and weaken its credibility with allies. The Ministry of Defence is now leaning harder into advanced strike drones, high-speed boats for commandos and other hybrid-fleet elements.