Multi-Role Ships - Everything to Everybody

[Kirkhill]

The Evolution and Need for the Continental Defence Corvette and Why a Dedicated MCM Vessel Still Matters – Canadian Naval Review

By Ted Barnes, 13 July 2025 Over the past few years, we've watched the evolution of what started as a modest Kingston-class Replacement turn into something far more ambitious.

www.navalreview.ca

Let's talk about the Continental Defence Corvette

Every time I think I'm done with this project, something comes up for me to talk about.

noahscornerofrandomstuff.substack.com

A look at the Adaptable Strike Frigate from BAE Systems

The 'Adaptable Strike Frigate' from BAE Systems doubles as an unmanned systems mothership built around modular payloads with lean crewing and a digital backbone.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

The Damen Enforcer as Britain’s new strike ship – A good fit?

Could the Damen Enforcer be the basis for the Royal Navy’s Multi-Role Strike Ship?

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

The Royal Navy needs to develop a completely new idea of what a warship is

No matter how much of a traditionalist you are, it is impossible to see how this model is sustainable

www.telegraph.co.uk

Navy Moving Away from ‘Optionally Manned’ Vessels as Service Mulls Unmanned Future - USNI News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy is placing less weight on optionally manned surface vehicles as it refines requirements for a new type of vessel that will support the surface fleet, officials said this week. Speaking at an event at the U.S. Naval Institute on Thursday, three service officials...

news.usni.org

How many drones does it take to replace a destroyer?

Fresh off a summer of testing robotic boats, the Navy's Task Force 66 wants to turn lessons into metrics.

www.defenseone.com

Multi-Mission vessels in all sizes from 30,000 tonnes down to 300 tonnes.
How close do they stand in?
What defences do they need?
What offboard autonomy can they rely on?

This one is worse than the Warspite and Dreadnought revolutions.

 

[Kirkhill]

Trying to be too clever. I was thinking of HMS Warrior, not Warspite.

 

[Lumber]

This is going the same way as the Baden-Württemberg-class frigate; defence industries and politicians are getting way too focused on the "du jure" capabilities and not looking at the big picture. One of those articles says "How many drones does it take to replace a destroyer?" Well, how many SM-2 and SM-6s can those drone scarry? How many NSMs?

 

[Furniture]

This is going the same way as the Baden-Württemberg-class frigate; defence industries and politicians are getting way too focused on the "du jure" capabilities and not looking at the big picture. One of those articles says "How many drones does it take to replace a destroyer?" Well, how many SM-2 and SM-6s can those drone scarry? How many NSMs?

Another key issue is, how long can they do the task. A warship can be at sea doing a lot of things for a long time, because it can RAS, and the humans onboard can maintain systems.

I'm glad the BMD thing has been addressed, and has been acknowledged as a misinterpretation of the name of the class. BMD from a corvette always sounded made-up to me, and as it turns out, it was.

 

[Lumber]

Another key issue is, how long can they do the task. A warship can be at sea doing a lot of things for a long time, because it can RAS, and the humans onboard can maintain systems.

I'm glad the BMD thing has been addressed, and has been acknowledged as a misinterpretation of the name of the class. BMD from a corvette always sounded made-up to me, and as it turns out, it was.

I don't disagree that a warship that can deploy a series of drones can provide extremely high utility in certain circumstances/missions. But you can't sacrifice core war fighting capabilities. Can these drones close with an enemy fleet on the open ocean, get past their defences and sink them? Can they provide adequate and sustained coverage to detect and deter enemy submarines? Can they enhance a ships defence against aircraft and missiles, by carrying (or being themselves) offboard hammers? Are you sacrificing room for AAW weapons aboard the mother ship to make room for these drones?

The only time I will believe that a drone carrier will truelly replace a destroyer is when the invent a type of aerial drone that is easily and quickly deployed in swarms, is recoverable, and can react autonomously to intercept incoming threats, with similarly capable ISR, ASUW, and possibly ASW drones (maybe drones that drive behind the ship in its wake and intercept incoming torpedoes.)