UK to Procure at Least Six Common Combat Vessels After Cancelling Type 83 and Type 32 Plans

The Royal Navy will procure at least six common combat vessels after plans for up to eight Type 83 destroyers and five Type 32 frigates were cancelled. The common combat vessels are intended to serve as command hubs for uncrewed systems and are scheduled to enter service in the 2030s. The Royal Navy's current Type 45 destroyers had been scheduled for retirement by the end of the next decade.

Type 32 frigates were designed to serve as platforms for deploying mine-hunting and anti-submarine drones. An uncrewed systems taskforce is being established at a drone facility in Swindon. Former Defence Secretary John Healey resigned earlier this month after learning the Defence Investment Plan would deliver £13.5 billion in additional military investment.

' £1 billion has been added to the Defence Investment Plan since Healey's resignation. The Government states it is providing £270 billion in additional defence funding across the current parliament. The plan is scheduled for release ahead of the NATO summit on 7 July 2026.