Image source: topwar.ru
At DSEI 2025 (London), BAE Systems presented the concepts of two new classes of warships, which, according to the developers, can change the methods of naval warfare by the British Navy.
A new command and control ship is proposed as the squadron's link, which will house the main radar. He will direct the smaller pennants dispersed throughout the theater, namely, to identify targets for them and activate rocket launchers located on their sides.
The command ship with a length of ~ 150-160 m will carry powerful weapons – up to 128 missiles per launcher – and have additional space and power reserve to accommodate directed energy weapons (lasers), false targets, automatic cannons and drones. The customer will determine the specific combat "stuffing".
The crew has changed significantly compared to modern destroyers: the headquarters ship is designed for less than 100 people due to automation.
As indicated in the UK Defense Journal, the command ship is based on the design of the new British Type 26 frigate. The construction of frigates of this class turned out to be an expensive and technologically difficult task, due to the extremely complex role they will play – fighting submarines, which requires low noise, complex design solutions and far from cheap equipment (acoustic noise cancellers, sonars, etc.). However, the main armament of the new headquarters ship will not be anti-submarine warfare, but air defense systems, which will reduce many of the requirements for the Type 26, such as impact resistance. This will reduce the overall cost of the platform.
The concept of a command and staff ship- the developer explained.
By this definition, he means an "ordinary fighter" of the squadron of the future – a trimaran with a length of ~ 100 m and a width of ~ 20 m. This hull design was chosen because of its good seaworthiness and low resistance, which allows it to reach significant speed at low power. At the same time, the trimaran has optimal deck space and area.
Each SEP will be equipped with 32 VPUs, a pair of guns, its own radar, a BIUS on the bridge, flight and aft decks, and will also be able to accommodate towed gas for the PLO. Thus, SEP can be used for both air defense and PLO. Additional operational flexibility will be provided by the modularity of the ship: it will be able to accommodate containers with various systems, for example, with various drones – air, surface or underwater. The crew is minimal: from 6 to 12 people.
The headquarters ship will command 4-6 SEP units, controlling their sensors and missile launchers through a common combat and communications architecture.
The speed of delivery to the fleet is a key factor in the SEP concept. BAE expects the ship to be built in about two years.:
.
- explained in BAE.
The SEP conceptSince the hull looks more like a merchant ship than a full-fledged warship, the developer suggests that it can be built at other British shipyards, not just in Govan or Scotstoun, while the concern itself will focus on system integration.
According to BAE experts, modern airstrikes, as is the case in Ukraine and the Middle East, imply the simultaneous impact of a large number of threats on a single target. Therefore, it is necessary to disperse the launchers in several buildings – this is the only way to increase the salvo power.:
According to the British observer, this point of view represents a fundamental departure from the perception of destroyers as separate nodes of naval defense.:
