How a hypothetical 1984 Sea Dart VLS could change later destroyers

What happens if Britain develops a vertical-launch Sea Dart by 1984?

An improved Sea Dart and a VLS retrofit could establish a larger missile magazine and a possible Tomahawk role, increasing expectations for Type 45.

A vertical-launch Sea Dart in 1984 would probably require an improved Mark 3 missile in this scenario. The launcher choice then matters: a British system or Mark 41 could lead to different opportunities for strike-length cells and Tomahawk. A proposed Type 42 conversion might carry forty-eight cells, with forty surface-to-air missiles and eight Tomahawks used as one example. Another branch combines a British air-defense launcher with a separate group of strike cells. Either arrangement would raise expectations for the Type 45's magazine. The larger hypothetical successor is suggested with sixty-four air-defense cells and twenty-four strike-length cells, rather than those figures being presented as an adopted design.