Well, its a very large ship (twice the displacement of the type 42’s it is replacing). That makes it less maneouverable, less fuel efficient, and more costly and time-consuming to build. None of that would matter if it had a fighting capacity to match, but there is an undercurrent of feeling that we are not getting that much fighting power per tonnage of ship.
Like the type 42, its built around the principal weapon system, in this case the Aster 15/30 SAM with the Samson guidance system. (This is why it is so large. To see air targets as far as possible you need the radar guidance system as high as possible, which means the mast has to be high, which in turn means the beam of the ship needs to be large to keep the whole ship stable). Now Aster is looking very good, but it doesn’t have a great range and Samson is very much a poor man’s solution - its a dual rotating radar system, which I think might prove too delicate in service. Its certainly no match for the US AEGIS system. Aster is Vertically launched, but theres only a 32 missile magazine.
Built around the SAM, the original intention was not to fit the class with sonar systems or mid size guns! This of course is lunacy. Without a sonar system the thing would be a sitting duck for subs and a medium calibre gun has long been proven essential in the Falklands and elsewhere. The naval architects talked the navy out of that and there is a mod 1 4.5” gun, but type 45’s still have just bow mounted sonar, not towed array, and there’s no intrinsic anti sub weapons. They are dependent for sub hunting on the on-board helicopter, which is a Lynx incidentally, instead of the much larger and better Merlin.
The only other weapon systems are a couple of Phalanx gatling cannon, and I’ve heard they are only going to provide space for them, not actually fit them. Phalanx is not as good a point defence system as is made out anyway.
So, what has the thing got? Well the crew accomodation fills two whole decks, in spite of the actual size of the crew being reduced over the type 42’s. The modern jolly jack tar won’t put up with a mess deck...they all went single or at most double cabins.
Type 45’s are quieted and “stealthy” (radar reflective sloping sides and so on) but their large size must nullify a lot of the effect of that. After all, its much easier to hide a small ship than a large one.
The Type- 45 was designed keeping in mind the capability to add more systems to it when funding becomes available.The issue is less about technology.It can theoritically take on a 16 cell VLS in addition to the 48 already installed.
You’re the first person I’ve heard say that the SAMPSON is a poor man’s solution.Most resources seem to suggest that it’s ahead of the Spy-1D in some areas,esp when combined with the dedicated variant of the Thales SMART-L long range radar.The Aster series is just at the begining of it’s development curve & can be improved to take on the theatre missile defense role.
Whilst I respect your opinion on the 45’s, I can find no sources which agree with your conclusions. I would greatly appreciate some links to sources so i can see how you reached your point of view.