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==Major Fleet Units==
The most significant source of power projection available to a navy is the aircraft carrier, and in the Royal Navy this is no exception. However, the three ships of the [[Invincible class aircraft carrier|''Invincible'' class]] are limited in what they can actually do, due not only to their small size, but also to the capabilities of the [[Sea Harrier]]. As a consequence, in the [[Strategic Defence Review]] of 1998, the British Government announced it would replace the ''Invincible'' class with a pair of much larger vessels, in a project that has been designated as [[Royal Navy CVF programme|'CVF']]. These two ships will displace over 50,000 tonnes, making them the largest ever operated by the Royal Navy. They will be [[STOVL]] carriers, operating the STOVL variant of the [[Joint Strike Fighter|Lockheed F-35]], which has been ordered by both the [[Fleet Air Arm]] and the [[Royal Air Force]] to replace the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier]]. It will also operate the [[AugustaWestland EH 101|Merlin]] [[ASW]] helicopter, and a platform for Maritime Airbourne Surveilance and Control (MASC), among the contenders for which are a modified version of the Merlin, the [[E-2 Hawkeye]] or a modified version of the [[V-22 Osprey]].
Since the mid 1980s, the Royal Navy has been looking at ways of replacing the small and increasingly obsolete [[Type 42]] air defence destroyers, which have been in service since the early 1970s. After two failed collaberative efforts - the [[NFR-90]] project, a joint [[NATO]] venture that Britain withdrew from in 1989, and [[Project Horizon]], a scheme in association with [[France]] and [[Italy]], which failed in 1999 - the government announced that a new class of [[destroyer]], the [[Type 45]] would replace the Type 42. Type 45 will displace approximately 7,200 tonnes, twice the size of its predecessor, and will be the largest combat ships (except aircraft carriers and amphibious vessels) built since the [[Tiger class cruiser|''Tiger'' class]] of the mid 1950s. This will provide significantly improved living space for the crew, which will be approximately the same size as the Type 42. For its primary mission, it will be equipped with the [[PAAMS]] integrated anti-aircraft system. As with the Type 42, the Type 45 will also have a limited anti-surface/anti-submarine role, being equipped with a 4.5in gun and a helicopter, which will either be [[Lynx helicopter|Lynx]] or [[AugustaWestland EH 101|Merlin]]. Although as built it will not be fitted with anti-ship or land attack missiles, its size will allow upgrades to be made if required, giving it an enhanced general warfare role.
At present, the majority of the navy's escorts are [[Type 22]] and [[Type 23]] [[frigate|frigates]]. Although these are capable units, they are, as with the rest of the combat fleet, designed for the Royal Navy's Cold War role. For the bluewater missions they are being asked to perform, they are not as well equipped as they could be, and their small size makes equipment upgrades difficult. Work has therefore begun on [[Future Surface Combatant]] (FSC), to replace the Type 22 and 23. At present there are different design proposals being studied, with the most high profile and ambitious being a [[trimaran]] hull. To this end, the study vessel [[RV Triton|''Triton'']] was constructed to study the trimaran concept. This has advantages over a conventional monohull, in terms of higher speed through decreased drag, greater stability and surface area on deck. Should the trimaran be unsuccessful, the hull form of the Type 45 could be adapted with an emphasis on general warfare rather than air defence.
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