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Type 45 extension not part of the plan, committee told
UK defense officials told a parliamentary committee that extending Type 45 destroyers beyond currently planned service dates is an option but not part of the present fleet-renewal plan. The Royal Navy expects the air-defense destroyers to begin retiring from the mid-2030s as a future hybrid maritime air-defense capability is introduced. Detailed transition planning and industrial consultation will determine whether additional service-life measures become necessary, with decisions still expected later in the decade. The evidence therefore does not amount to a categorical ban on an extension or a commitment to buy replacement ships immediately.