And then there were 5 – another UK frigate decommissioned
there appears to be a 5 year gap in the UK'S navy capabilities
From here:
Royal Navy left with five frigates after HMS Iron Duke quietly withdrawn
“The Royal Navy has effectively withdrawn another warship, leaving it with only five active frigates.
HMS Iron Duke has reportedly been stripped of its weapons and sensors and has not been to sea since October.
It follows an almost five-year refit for the Type 23 frigate that cost the taxpayer £103m. That was completed in 2023 and was expected to allow the Iron Duke to return to service for at least another five years.
The Navy’s fleet has only five active frigates remaining, the majority of which are used to monitor potential submarine activity in the North Atlantic.
Iron Duke began a life-extension refit in Devonport in May 2019, having been laid up in Portsmouth since 2017 because of severe corrosion to the hull.
According to Navy Lookout, the repair work involved was the most complex ever undertaken on a Type 23 frigate, costing £103m.
The outlet calculated that the warship had had a maximum of 16 months of full operational availability since. On that basis, the refit had therefore cost the taxpayer approximately £6.4m per operational month, not including running costs.
The last batch of Type 23s was ordered in 1996 with an intended 18-year lifespan. But successive governments did not order their replacements until 2017.
The ageing Duke class – as the Type 23 frigates are known – is in the process of being replaced by the Type 26, although it is unclear when they will enter service.
From Brave AI:
The Royal Navy plans to decommission all remaining Type 23 frigates by 2035, with the final vessel, HMS St Albans, scheduled to exit service that year.
As of May 2026, only five Type 23 frigates remain operational following the recent withdrawal of HMS Iron Duke.
The remaining active ships are expected to be retired in sequence leading up to the 2035 deadline, though specific out-of-service dates for individual vessels are not publicly disclosed to protect operational security.
These ships will be replaced by the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates, which are currently entering service between 2028 and the early 2030s.
“Initial Operating Capability (IOC) for the UK’s Type 26 frigate program is scheduled for October 2028.
The first ship, HMS Glasgow, is expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy in late 2026 for sea trials, with service entry targeted for 2028.
All eight Royal Navy Type 26 frigates are projected to enter service between 2028 and 2035.
Construction of the entire class is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2033.
Five Type 31 frigates are planned for the Royal Navy.
The class, known as the Inspiration class, consists of HMS Venturer, HMS Active, HMS Formidable, HMS Bulldog, and HMS Campbeltown.
While initial targets suggested earlier entry, current plans schedule the first ship, HMS Venturer, for service by the end of the decade (2030), with all five ships expected to be operational by the early 2030s.
These vessels are designed to replace the aging Type 23 frigates and provide a lower-cost, general-purpose capability for the Royal Navy.
It looks like there is a 5 year gap to fill in the Royal Navy’s fleet capabilities.
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