In the Keynote speech for the 2026 Combined Naval Event at Farnborough, First Sea Lord General Gwyn Jenkins delivered his sharpest challenge yet to the concept of building ever more expensive warships. His insistence that the RN must move away from the need for “ever bigger, ever more expensive platforms” carries pointed implications for significant warship programmes still in the planning pipeline.
Jenkins’s formulation, “crewed where necessary, uncrewed wherever possible, integrated always” is more than a slogan: it is a statement about scale and affordability. He was explicit that resources will always be constrained and that the task is to generate mass and lethality from a wider, more survivable mix of assets rather than concentrate investment in a handful of high-value hulls. Although subject to usual caveats, wargame analysis has shown a threefold increase in missile capacity under the hybrid model, his remarks amount to a direct challenge to programmes built around small numbers of very large, very costly ships.
He was more assertive then ever about the future direction of the RN. “I accept that there are still some hybrid sceptics, but here’s the hard news: we have no time to pander to cynicism or traditionalists, because autonomy is already demonstrably changing the nature of warfare, as evidenced in Ukraine and in the Middle East.”
ATLANTIC SHEILD, the hybrid fleet’s contribution to integrated air and missile defence, is designed to distribute that function across a layered network of crewed and uncrewed assets rather than concentrate it in a small number of highly capable surface ships. The Future Air Defence System (FADS) programme, from which the Type 83 destroyer is intended to form the core of the Shield, is among the most complex and expensive warship concepts the RN has contemplated in a generation. Whether the RN will go for conventional high-end air defence destroyers is perhaps now a little more doubtful, although finance, rather than doctrine, may of course be the determining factor.
The Multi-Role Strike Ship (MRSS), the planned replacement for the amphibious assault ships, must also face similar considerations. ATLANTIC STRIKE, the third hybrid pillar, aims to enhance conventional deterrence and reach through a mix of crewed and autonomous platforms. Whether that ambition justifies the scale of vessel originally envisaged for MRSS, or whether a more distributed model based on modest hulls carrying modular payloads could achieve a comparable effect, is a question this logic invites but does not yet answer.
On the Defence Investment Plan, whose delay has been a source of industry frustration, Jenkins was direct: “I know many of you are waiting for the defence investment plan. Trust me, when I say we’re not alone, but I want to reassure you that this is not holding us back.” He confirmed that £115 million has already been made available for the hybrid navy programme, with the Gulf deployment as its first major test. The package covers autonomous minehunting equipment, mine clearance specialists, and additional capabilities for HMS Dragon, currently deployed to the region. It also includes the Project BEEHIVE base of operations, giving the multinational force a persistent ability to sense, track, and identify threats across one of the world’s most congested maritime chokepoints.
The General highlighted the Joint Expeditionary Force vision for a persistent integrated multinational maritime force in the high north and North Atlantic, as we reported when it was endorsed by all ten member nations in London last month, is now moving into the planning phase. Jenkins confirmed that JEF chiefs of navies will meet again within weeks to convert that statement of intent into a substantive proposition, underpinned by standardised doctrine, shared training, and common capabilities. A full plan, he said, is intended to be ready for implementation by autumn, a notably tight timeline.
Jenkins said he hopes the Government’s Regulation for Growth Bill, introduced in the preceding week’s King’s Speech, will be a route to accelerating the testing and certification of autonomous systems. He acknowledged that current regulation is not fit for purpose, with the Defence Maritime Regulator already preparing proposals for a risk-based approach to trialling. For the private sector, this is a meaningful signal that the regulatory bottleneck that has held back autonomous system deployment is now explicitly on the government’s agenda, and that legislative momentum is building to address it. If managed correctly, British industry has the opportunity to become a world leader in maritime autonomous systems.
