A larger launch fit could have provided more Aster 30 area-defence weapons, a separate close-defence battery, and Mark 41 cells able to carry Tomahawk. The fleet instead relied on submarine-launched land attack and avoided the added cost of giving surface ships the same capability. Harpoon would still offer a useful anti-ship threat even if it was no longer the leading weapon in its class. As the air threat rose and adversaries regained a say over whether war occurred, the Royal Navy began adding Sea Ceptor and moving more of the Aster inventory toward the longer-ranged Aster 30. Engine repairs and those missile changes preserve Type 45 as a capable specialist rather than turning it into a general-purpose destroyer.
Notable Point · 47:36-49:35
Type 45 missile capacity and threat reassessment
A counterfactual Type 45 weapon fit and the real Sea Ceptor and Aster upgrades show how missile capacity reflects assumptions about submarines, air threats, and wars of choice.