The Defence Investment Plan assigned four class numbers on 30 June 2026: Type 91 for uncrewed missile platforms, Type 92 for anti-submarine sensing, Type 93 for extra-large uncrewed underwater vessels, and Type 94 for air-threat sensing. The 90-series numbering sits above the frigate and destroyer lines (Type 23, 26, 45), so the Royal Navy is counting these as fleet units, not auxiliaries.
For a supplier the naming matters more than the £5bn headline. A class definition is the anchor a requirement document, a competition and a support contract all hang from, so the taxonomy tells primes and SMEs which of four distinct product lines to align research and bid teams to. Weapons for Type 91 and Type 93 are being developed under the AUKUS Pillar II Signature Project that named two US-built vehicles and no British hull, the same undersea programme Norway's Kongsberg and Italy's DRASS are now contesting.
What did not arrive were numbers, contractors or in-service dates; expansion sits in 'the 2030s'. The £5bn is a slice of a £15bn settlement, roughly £13bn short of the ask, so the vague delivery language and the constrained topline are the same fact seen twice.
