Calls to "escalate and accelerate" Royal Navy Type 83 destroyer project after Russia-Poland drone incident
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A minister is calling for a project to build a mysterious advanced warship to be accelerated after Russian drones invaded Polish airspace.
Graeme Downie, Labour MP for Dunfermline and Donar, urged the government to "escalate and accelerate" the Type 83 destroyer programme - as well as other air defence systems. This comes after multiple Russian drones violated Polish and Nato airspace yesterday (September 10) by flying across border regions to attack targets in Ukraine.
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Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday (September 10), Mr Downie said: “This attack by Vladimir Putin on a NATO member that has been a leader in resisting Russian aggression and supplying Ukraine is a clear escalation and an attempt, as others have said, to probe NATO defences and intimidate the alliance.
“Can the Minister assure me that the UK and NATO will not be intimidated and that the Government are considering robust military options to stand up to this bully in Moscow? Closer to home, can he assure me that the attacks will confirm the urgency to escalate and accelerate our development of the Type 83 destroyer and the future air defence system so that our country is fully protected in the future?”
Labour minister for veterans and people, Al Carns, added: “I have never been intimidated in my life. We as a country, will not be intimidated, and neither will Nato. Our defence industrial strategy is absolutely critical. Giving weapons to Ukraine is one thing, building industrial capacity to generate mass is how you win wars should you be caught up in one. That’s why the SDR’s first 70 pages are all about industry.”
What happened when Russian drones flew over Poland?
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said 19 Russian drones flew over Poland, of which up to four were shot down. He added that wreckages of 16 aircraft were discovered across the countryside, damaging houses and cars.
This is the first time Russian drones have been shot down flying over a Nato territory. Russia said the incursion was not deliberate, and would be holding a discussion with Poland. Warsaw airport and Polish airspace had to be temporarily closed. Regions on the border of Belarus and Ukraine were affected.
Mr Carns said: “Russia’s actions are absolutely and utterly reckless, unprecedented and dangerous. It serves to remind us of President Putin’s blatant disregard for peace, and the constant bombardment that Ukrainian civilians face every day.”
He added: “The prime minister has been in contact to make clear the UK’s support for Poland, and we will stand firm in our support for Ukraine. We stand in full solidarity with Poland. We condemn this action.”
What are the Type 83 destroyers and is there a timeframe for when they’ll be built?
The Type 83 project reached the concept phase in July, and a defence select committee report suggested that they could be used High North to deal with Russia’s submarine threat.
Commodore Michael Wood, Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the programme in Navy Command, previously said the vessels would be an evolution of the Type 45 air defence destroyer. He added that they will utilise automation and possibly electric propulsion and laser weapons.
First Sea Lord Sir Gwyn Jenkins, head of the Royal Navy, said during a speech at the DSEI conference in London that un-crewed escort vessels will sail alongside warships within the next two years, with this being scaled across the Royal Navy. “This approach will not only revolutionise our ability to put mass to sea, it will fundamentally change our future shipbuilding programme, enabling us to break the paradigm of only ever bigger, more expensive and complex warships,” he added.
“We are also working to take this approach into our concepts for both the Multi Role Strike Ships (MRSS) as part of our future littoral ships and for the T83 as our future Air Defence Destroyer, which will fundamentally change and improve what can be produced. I want both to be founded on a family of vessels, with crewed capabilities at their heart, but more modular, resilient, dispersed and powerful. Fit for modern warfighting.”