The Royal Navy is entering a new era. Work has begun on the first of the five ships that are the mainstay of the future fleet. The project is called “Inspiration”. Recently, a demonstration ceremony of cutting steel for the ship was held. In just two years, the first ship of the new class 31 called Venturer will be launched. In seven years, he will be joined by «classmates»: Active, Bulldog, Campbeltown and Formidable. They will replace some of the Type 23 frigates.
British shipyards are producing two new classes of frigates for the navy for the first time in more than 30 years. The British Navy is currently armed with 13 Type 23 frigates. This class of ships is also called Duke, because they are all named after English dukes. The British military received the first Type 23 frigate in 1989 and should write it off in 2023.
Eight Dukes will replace the Type 26 frigates, which are being developed by BAE Systems. Their length will be 149.9 meters, width-20.8 meters, and displacement-6.9 thousand tons. Type 26 ships will be able to reach speeds above 26 knots. Their range will exceed seven thousand nautical miles.
The remaining five Type 23 ships are to replace the Type 31 frigates. Babcock received the contract for their construction in 2019. These will be ships with a displacement of 5.7 thousand tons, approximately 140 meters in length. They will receive Sea Ceptor anti-aircraft missile systems, one 57-millimeter and two 40-millimeter artillery installations from their weapons. It will be able to reach a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h) with a power reserve of 17 thousand km.
It is expected that the new ships will serve around the world, they will have to solve diverse tasks: detecting submarines, intercepting and suppressing illegal activities at sea, collecting intelligence data, participating in defense and providing humanitarian support.
The new project has a beautiful name & laquo; Inspiration». Each representative of this class will be equipped with a Sea Ceptor anti-aircraft missile system, a 57-mm main gun and two 40-mm Bofors, a 4D radar and a vehicle, will be able to carry a Merlin helicopter or its equivalent. A variety of use cases will provide modularity, which will become the new standard for the British Navy. It provides for the use of universal structural modules that can be changed and combined depending on the tasks and conditions of the current mission, even on the high seas.
Modules the size of a transport container will be compatible with all new ships and submarines. They can accommodate drones, autonomous equipment for searching for mines, a command center for landing, humanitarian aid, a surgical department and much more.
Venturer, the first ship of the project, is named after a World War II submarine that made history by torpedoing a submarine when both were under water.
According to the British vice admiral, the Type 31 ships are the best that was with British shipbuilding. Thanks to its modular design, it can be configured to meet the needs of both the Royal Navy and allies around the world, now and in the future.
The Type 31 ships will operate all over the world, which underlines the country’s eternal desire to maintain the leading position of a naval power on the world stage.
What really makes you shudder is the price: all five ships of the Inspiration project are being built at a price of 250 million pounds, that is, 25 billion rubles apiece.
Source:
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2021/september/23/20210923-t31-age
