Fantasy battlecruiser

ok, a 'Type 90' warship, call it a 'sea control ship'.

this is a vessel of approx 20,000 tons, in essence its a multi-role vessel with the the traditional array of modern, sea launched weapons (TLAM IV/D, Sampson AD radar with ASTOR15, 30 and the (as yet unmade) 45 - potentially providing a limited ABM capability, Harpoon Anti-Ship/Surface missile, CIWS (generic, rather than system specific) but, perhaps more orginally, it would have with a massively enhanced flight operations capability for both helicopters (ASuW, LUH, Med Lift, AH etc...) and UAV/UACV for maritime patrol, overland reece, remote-AWACS and interdiction.

i had originally considered a vastly stretched Type 45 (both in terms or flight deck/hangers and VLS capacity) but perhaps what is actually needed is a InvincibleII class with most of the flight deck and hanger space for the helicopter/UAV force, but with a vast VLS bank/s for the various missile systems.

imagine the Air Defence coverage a 24hr duration UAV flying at 60,000ft and operating a SAMPSON-Lite radar could provide, further imagine having another UAV designating real-time targets 900 miles away for the Tommahawks, and at the same time AH-64's and Merlins conducting boarding operations in support of anti-smuggling/anti-terrorist operations...

not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but a single such warship could closde down a vast area of open sea or littoral area.