What systems would the panel fit to recent and future Royal Navy ships if money and hull size were unlimited?
Short answerBuild a Type 83-like missile ship with dense layered guns and about 144 VLS cells, add Vanguard-based SSGNs, and fund advanced naval guns.
NotesA recalled design for a large Type 45 or early Type 83 concept combines three 76 mm guns and three Phalanx mounts arranged for overlapping defense. It retains a 4.5-inch gun while combining Sylver and Mark 41 launchers, with forty-eight Sylver and twenty-four Mark 41 cells at each end. The total is recalled as about 144 vertical cells, plus sixteen Harpoon or Naval Strike Missiles. Building a dozen would make the Royal Navy a major source of European missile capacity. The submarine counterpart is an SSGN derived from the Vanguard hull to carry a large conventional strike load. With development money also available, the panel considers reviving the Advanced Gun System or cooperating with Japan on railgun work.