Small modular reactors for high-power surface combatants

Could the Royal Navy use small modular reactors in surface ships?

Yes, if suitable designs achieve the power density needed at sea and a sufficiently capable ship justifies the plant's cost.

Small modular reactors are one possible way to supply the power demanded by lasers and railguns. Their usefulness at sea depends on achieving sufficient power density, which may require development beyond the first generation of designs. The Rolls-Royce proposal is cited at 470 megawatts of electricity, while each Ford-class A1B reactor is estimated at 700 megawatts thermal. Those figures measure different things and cannot be compared directly. The cost of the propulsion plant also affects the hull chosen to carry it. A roughly 15,000-ton Type 83 is suggested because such an expensive installation would need to support substantial firepower.