Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1220268
armament systems, anti-ship missiles, small submarines or advanced mines included, imposes high requirements for the vessels that, theoretically at least, do not have to face a threat as such. One could easily imagine a sit- uation in which, due to insufficient number of vessels available, Royal Navy is forced to send the Type 31 to do the job, instead of deploying a more advanced vessel. Both factors listed above force us to have a look at the potential these vessels offer in a context that is totally different. Current assumptions show that Type 31 poten- tial to face threat as such would be very much limited. The greatest weakness that can be seen here is the lim- ited ability to detect and act against submarines, surface threats and the limited capability within the air defense domain. However, selection of the Babcok's offer that uses a ves- sel of the greatest displacement, out of the three designs proposed, means that the warships delivered would offer a significant displacement and space reserves making it possible to fit extra armament and equipment onto them later on, as necessity as such emerges or when the fleet would have extra funds at its disposal. The matter that should be addressed in advance is solely the power re- serve to be installed onboard, making it possible to sup- ply power for the systems that would be installed on the warships in question in the future. Here, potential areas where provision of extra equipment as such would be possible can be listed. We shall focus on the domains that would improve the potential of the new vessels to the greatest extent. One of the clues may be found in case of the Danish Iver Huidtfeldt frigates that have a much more expansive sensors and weapons set at their disposal also sharing the hull with Type 31. Increasing the potential in the domain of detecting the underwater threats shall be viewed as a priority here. Towed and VDS systems that are currently the best solution for detecting submarines that can be employed by surface combatants should not pose any challenge. Under the helideck one may find some space for the system in question, along with a towed torpedo decoy. Meanwhile in the central part of the hull, near the RIB bays, "light" ASW torpedoes and "hard kill" counter-tor- pedoes may be installed. A matter that is relatively simple is the process of pro- viding the new vessel with a capacity to act against sur- face vessels beyond the horizon. The frigates are to have space available to accommodate two box launchers for the anti-ship missiles, 4 missiles each. At the moment the Royal Navy is working on the Interim Surface to Surface Guided Weapon (I-SSGW) program. It is aimed at intro- ducing new, "temporary" missiles that would act as a gap filler, replacing the withdrawn Harpoon effectors in a NAVY