Royal Navy problems
Trouble haunts Britain fleet everywhere. From the lack of personnel that has led to the decommissioning of perfectly capable frigates to the constant technical problems on Royal Navy ships, this is the current situation in the British Navy.
Four Type 23 frigates, including Monmouth, Montrose, Westminster and Argyll, were withdrawn from service without replacement. Another frigate, Northumberland, was transferred to the Babcock frigate support center in Davenport in March this year.
Apparently, the initial inspection and fault detection of the Northumberland showed disappointing results, and repairs to the ship have not yet begun. It probably won't start, given that the Iron Duke's £103 million refurbishment has also not been completed. They plan to write it off next year.
It was planned that the Iron Duke would be equipped with the S2087 sonar system with the Westminster, but it is unknown whether such a castling was made or whether it remained only on paper. There is no point in spending such large sums on a ship that has only two or three years of active service left.
The frigate Lancaster is due to be decommissioned in 2025-26. It is the oldest surviving Type 23 ship and has been in the Persian Gulf for three years. Its condition is probably not the best, and there is no point in repairing it.
The frigate Richmond was supposed to replace Lancaster, but an unplanned trip to the Red Sea probably seriously delayed the rotation. When the Lancaster returns from the Persian Gulf, it will likely be phased out.
The frigate HMS Kent is currently being prepared for maintenance with a replacement PGMU. Considering how long such repairs usually take, we can assume that it will not be back in service any time soon.
Depending on when Kent departs and what happens to HMS Northumberland, the number of frigates could potentially be reduced to just seven ships in 2026, of which only five would actually be operational.
Now let's talk about new ships
The Type 26 Glasgow and Type 31 Venturer frigates are due to enter service in late 2027 or early 2028. However, it is difficult to say how realistic this is. The Venturer has not even been launched yet, although the hull and propulsion system are said to be in a high state of completion.
However, there are problems. Firstly, the cost of the ships was significantly underestimated when concluding contracts, which led to a conflict between Babcock and the Admiralty. Builders demand additional money, but admirals do not want or cannot give it. They tried to resolve the dispute out of court, but have not yet resolved it.
Secondly, as stated earlier, the ships were not properly armed for their size and displacement. Now we are talking about installing the American UVP Mk. 41. However, the first two buildings, “Venturer” and “Active”, are already in such degrees of readiness that do not allow changes to be made without serious alterations, which, of course, no one will do, since the cost will increase significantly.
American UVPs will probably appear on the last three hulls, and the first ones will receive them during a major overhaul, that is, soon. This means that Admiralty operations officers will have to take into account such features of these ships when planning combat services.
It is assumed that new frigates of type 26 and type 31 will enter service annually, one ship of each type. It is difficult to say how realistic this is; too many unpredictable factors may arise. By 2033–34, all Type 26 and Type 31 frigates should be in service, and the last two Type 23 frigates should be decommissioned. However, this is a rather distant prospect.
There are more pressing problems. The Royal Navy's Great Eastern Crusade is planned for next year. If it’s more or less clear with aircraft carriers, although I have some doubts, then I have very doubts about escort ships.
At least one destroyer, two frigates and a multipurpose nuclear submarine (MAS) are required. Taking two out of five frigates is somehow wrong. The technical condition of the Estute-type MAPL also raises very strong doubts. One of them is awaiting renovation in Devonport. The rest leave the base very rarely and very briefly.
Even the SSBN went to test the new torpedo, although it is much more reasonable to save the far from infinite resource of the not-so-new SSBN and entrust such a task to a relatively new MAPL. Whether one of the new MAPLs will be able to withstand a multi-month, thousand-mile journey is, of course, an interesting question.
Something also went wrong with the supply ships. There is no clear information about Fort Victoria. She will officially participate. Unofficially, it is rusting against the wall without any repair. The crew was partially scattered among those ships that were underway.
One of the four relatively new “tides” was suddenly taken out of service without any explanation. At least one, and preferably two, are needed for a long campaign, because power plants consume diesel fuel at an alarming rate. Or “crawl” from port to port, but this will not be royal at all.
I would like to remind you that in 2035, in 10 years, the designated service life of Dontles and Estute will expire. They also need to be changed, and the replacement should have started to be prepared yesterday. This is the harsh British reality. And how Their Lordships are going to “extricate themselves” from all this is difficult to guess.
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