A modern cruiser would combine area defense, guns, lasers, and strike cells

If the Royal Navy built a modern cruiser, what should it be armed with?

It would be larger than current frigates, with Type 45-style air defense, at least two large guns, enough power for lasers, and a substantial land-attack missile battery.

The Type 26 is called a frigate, although older naming logic might have made a global combat ship sound cruiser-like. A true modern cruiser would be larger and carry a Type 45-style air-defense suite. Big deck guns would provide surface and shore firepower. Ample electrical power for future lasers and a substantial Tomahawk or successor battery would add new defensive and land-attack options.