An Arleigh Burke-scale British destroyer

Could Britain have built a dozen modified Arleigh Burke-scale destroyers in the early 1990s?

Possibly, but the work would effectively create a Type 45-scale ship around a different combat system while starving British and European radar investment.

Lower crew requirements were feasible through automation and British crewing standards, but this would not be a simple copy. Changing the systems and internal arrangements would leave Britain building something close to a Type 45 on an Arleigh Burke-sized hull. Choosing the American radar and combat-system family would also redirect investment away from British and European radar development. The answer therefore weighs a capable imported baseline against the long-term survival of the domestic technology and industrial base.