By Moderator, 14 May 2026
A few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump referred to the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers as ‘toys’ and dismissed British naval capabilities as ‘old and broken.’ That he was asking for the RN’s assistance in the Strait of Hormuz at the time is an interesting method of diplomacy.
We may not like what Trump said, but there’s no denying that the RN is a sad shadow of its former glorious self. Although it has not formally been decommissioned, the weapons and sensors of HMS Iron Duke were stripped and the ship has not left port since October 2025. [See https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/11/warship-hms-iron-duke-costly-refit-scrapheap/]
Having had a refit less than 3 years ago, withdrawal of Iron Duke from active service raises some questions about the ability of the RN fleet to carry on with its tasks. The decommissioning of HMS Richmond this year has been already confirmed. That will mean the RN will have 5 active frigates, and there are concerns about how long these ships can keep going.
Several of these ships will be assigned to anti-submarine warfare and submarine monitoring commitments in the Atlantic and high North as part of the RN’s contribution to NATO’s sub-surface deterrence. This means that the RN might now struggle to assign a frigate to the Carrier Strike Group which, at minimum, should be comprised of 2 frigates and 2 destroyers. Other smaller ships will now be responsible for monitoring the Russian ships and submarines regularly transiting through the English channel.
The RN has 13 frigates under construction or on order. But they may not be entering service for several years -- Type 26 first-of-class, HMS Glasgow and Type 31 first-of-class HMS Venturer apparently will not enter service until the late 2020s.
According to a recent commentary in Navy Outlook, “The collective failure to order a single new frigate between 1996 and 2017 is having disastrous consequences.” The Royal Canadian Navy can perhaps relate to this!
See “Another warship quietly withdrawn – Royal Navy now down to just 5 frigates,”
Another warship quietly withdrawn – Royal Navy now down to just 5 frigates - Navy Lookout
Image: The Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke seen at DSEI 2023 defence exhibition in London. Credit: Timothy Choi
