Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government why they cancelled the Type 83 destroyer programme; and how much was spent on the Type 83 destroyer programme to date.

I refer the noble lady to the answers given in the House of Commons to Questions 9539 and 15397, reproduced below.

The Type 83 Destroyer forms part of a wider Future Air Dominance System (FADS) capability concept, making specific costs for the Type 83 element hard to differentiate from the wider whole. Over the last three financial years, c.£1M has been spent on platform-specific design for the Type 83. This forms part of a c.£6.9M which is the broader notional spend for Type 83 work as a part of FADS.

The role of Maritime Air Defence, currently delivered by Type 45 Destroyers, will be delivered in the future by a mix of crewed Common Combat Vessels and uncrewed, autonomous missile (Type 91) and sensor (Type 94) ships.

The decision to move to this hybrid approach was taken after detailed analysis of current and future threats, including lessons from ongoing conflicts. The specific analysis is necessarily classified, but the mix of crewed and uncrewed systems will produce a more flexible force, with greater missile capacity while also improving mass. The alternative, an expensive, exquisite platform such as the Type 83, would have resulted in too few ships to cover all the Royal Navy’s tasks, increasing risk. Detailed planning for the transition between Type 45 and the Hybrid Navy Maritime Air Defence capability will be undertaken in consultation with industry, which will determine whether a Type 45 extension is implemented. A final decision is not expected until 2027-28.