Multiple outlets report that Keir Starmer’s government is dropping earlier plans to replace Britain’s ageing destroyers and is instead considering a new “hybrid navy” approach based on different types of warships. The Independent and the Mirror both link the change to a wider dispute over defence funding within the government. The reporting indicates that ministers are locked in disagreements about how much money the armed forces will receive and how that spending should be allocated among capabilities. The Mirror adds that the funding fight is part of a broader political breakdown in the defence team, leading to the resignations of Defence Secretary John Healey and Al Carns, the armed forces minister. Across the articles, the key focus is on shifting procurement strategy rather than a specific immediate replacement schedule. While details of the proposed hybrid concept are not fully set out in the provided excerpts, both sources agree the government is moving away from the earlier destroyer replacement direction and toward a hybrid mix of platforms, amid internal ministerial conflict over defence budgets.