Feature 3 | FRIGATES, CORVETTES & DESTROYERS
unmanned small surface vessels as well as ‘soft-skinned’ vehicles on land and FASGW (Heavy) to engage larger targets up to corvette size. Thales is developing a Lightweight
Multi-role Missile (LMM) to meet the former requirement using a lightweight, laser-guided weapon while MBDA is developing an improved version of Sea Skua, Sea Skua (Infra-Red) with extended range, an imaging IR seeker and a two-way data link to meet the latter requirement.
Equipment and technology used in the Type 45 Daring class could also be used in the Type 26 design.
launchers will probably be forward together with a gun system and while the British 4.5inch (114mm) Mk 8 is being considered as a basis purely for design purposes it is widely recognised that this is not adequate for modern operations. Although the Ministry of Defence made a decision to abandon the technology demonstrator of a 155mm tube in a Mark 8 mounting, it seems certain they will have US or Italian 5inch (127mm) gun mountings. To meet the Royal Navy’s Future Local
Area Air Defence System (Maritime) or FLAADS (M) requirement, and to replace Seawolf, the ships will probably benefit from the MBDA Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) system. This will be a largely anti-aircraft weapon designed to be compatible with existing combat management and radar systems but for use from land, sea and air platforms.
CAMM (M) role The role of the Maritime CAMM (M) in Type 26 will be to engage high-performance combat aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and small surface craſt both manned and unmanned. It will be a tail-guided weapon, 166mm in diameter and some 3m long and will use some sub-systems from the Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) including the low-signature rocket motor, the warhead system and the dual-band low-probability-of-intercept datalink system. It will not require
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dedicated tracker/illuminator radars being cued by ship target indication data and will have an active radar seeker. With a range of more than 13.5nm (25km) it will be suitable for both ‘blue’ (ocean) and ‘green’ (littoral) environments as well as having a limited anti-surface vessel capability. It can be operated from
“The hull will certainly be produced in modules like the Type 45 but it is uncertain how far a modular approach to the design will be taken”
quad-packs in either the Sylver or Mk 41 launching systems and will be ‘cold launched’ by gas charge and piston from autonomous cells to heights of 25-30m (80-100ſt) before the rocket motor ignites. Te planned in-service date, with the Type 23, is 2016. For the helicopters there is the Future
Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (FASGW), which is scheduled to replace the Sea Skua missile from 2015. It is anticipated that two systems will be required: FASGW (Light) against manned or
Type 26 common core GCS is based in general terms on the Type 26 which provides a common core that can be modified to meet other navies’ requirements. Te ability to take the Mk 41 launcher will certainly increase its attraction to some foreign customers and it has been designed from the outset to incorporate other sensors such as Tales Nederland’s Smart-S radar and even the Australian CEA active sensors. Te British are currently seeking partners with reports of interest expressed by Australia, Brazil, India, Malaysia and Turkey. It is also reported that in marketing the design overseas the United Kingdom is prepared to accept requirement inputs from abroad. A Main Gate decision for development
and manufacture is anticipated by the end of 2013 with a contract likely to be awarded the following year. If the schedule holds then it can be anticipated that steel will be cut in 2016 and the first-of-class will be launched two years later. The numbers planned have not been
revealed but the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) of 2010 has reduced the surface combatant fleet to 19 hulls and with six Type 45s that would suggest the target will be 13 frigates and it is likely that five of these will be general purpose versions. However, the present government anticipates another SDSR about 2016 and experience suggests that the Treasury will push to reduce this figure. With no design currently available, it is
impossible to assess the potential success of the Type 26. Certainly, there is an earnest hope that it will be accepted both at home and abroad like the famed Leanders which were used by Australia, India, the Netherlands and New Zealand. WT
Warship Technology October 2011
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