The crew of HMS Sutherland have officially moved onboard and taken charge of the ship after completing the handover process from Babcock after a refit, according to a recent update from the Royal Navy frigate’s official Twitter account.

The milestone marks a significant achievement for HMS Sutherland, affectionately known as the ‘Fighting Clan,’ after extensive work on the ship by Babcock.

Taking control of the ship signals that the crew can now focus on further preparations and training to ready HMS Sutherland for getting back to sea.

HMS Sutherland is a Type 23 Duke-class frigate in the Royal Navy, primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare. Launched in 1996, she is the thirteenth ship in her class and the third to carry the name Sutherland, over 200 years since the name was last used. At her launch, Lady Christina Walmsley, breaking with Royal Navy tradition, used a bottle of Macallan Scotch whisky instead of champagne.

In 2017, HMS Sutherland was the first vessel to escort the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth during its sea trials. The following year, the frigate was deployed to the Pacific Ocean, where she participated in operations aimed at maintaining pressure on North Korea and asserting navigation rights in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

HMS Sutherland has also been involved in weaponry testing. In early 2019, the ship was used to test the integration of the Martlet Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) and a 30 mm cannon. These tests were conducted at the Aberporth range in Wales and demonstrated the ship’s capability to engage smaller targets, adding to its operational versatility.

The ship entered her long-term refit in April 2021, including upgrades such as installing Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missiles and other system improvements. In March 2024, HMS Sutherland was removed from dry dock, with post-refit sea trials expected to commence later in the year.

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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30 COMMENTS

      • Quite.

        Why fiddle with a difficult and expensive refit part way through if you want to get her back into service.

        Also #1 still hasn’t been tested.

    • Only five Type 23s are slated to get NSM (alongside the 6 x Type 45s). Somerset was the first and I’ve read Portland is next in line. Not sure which of the remaining Type 23s will get the other three ship sets. It’s possible Sutherland isn’t one of them.

  2. Good news that we’ll have another Type 23 at sea, albeit on trials, then FOST Was any provision.made to fit NSM during the refit?

  3. I see that the HMS Sutherland X site refers to their personnel as ‘Ship Staff’. How very modern…and too civvvified for me.

    I preferred the terms ‘Ship’s Company’, ‘crew’ or ‘Ship’s complement’

    • Ships ‘company’ way too capitalist, ‘complement’ is to positive for a war fighting ship, crew comes from the old French word creue which means reinforcement so way to military and threatening. 😂. On a serious note I’m sure there no one in Whitehall doing this sort of analysis so naming doesn’t offend certain groups that would just be ridiculous and a waste of money.

      • A bugbear for me and I’d suggest people like Daniele is that too much money is spent on diversity and inclusion in the military; wiki the head shed and cone down through the ranks to how many posts are filled in that niche ‘capability.’

        • Apparently D&I is vital to ensure innovation and maintaining a competitive edge. This argument is trotted out regularly by supporters of D&I but little supporting evidence is ever offered to justify the claim.

  4. Did HMS Sutherland receive the PGMU Mod while in refit? Consider that to be the most useful signal of RN intent to maintain ship in the fleet for extended period. May correlate w/ NSM installation. 🤔

        • One of 4 I think. The RN has successfully navigated the shallows – the low point in escort numbers. We need to be patient. It’s not long now until both T26 and T31 enter service.

          • Yeh, Naval News were reporting in April this year that HMS Glasgow will start sea trials in early 2026 – so may be mid 2026..? So two years hence. Given she was laid down in 2017 that’s no time at all… Has it really been that long..? Damn I feel old.

            Cheers CR

          • Close run thing with the T23 Lifex program – 5 frigates down. We have been fortunate to have had the Rivers. We have also turned the corner with T45. A lot of hard work has gone in to turn an embarrassing ugly duckling into a beautiful and well armed swan 🙂

          • “It has been a damned nice thing–the nearest run thing you ever saw.” (Duke of Wellington, 18 Jun 1815) Apparently, a recurring theme of British defence policy, or perhaps simply the latest iteration of a “just in time” philosophy? 🤔😉😁🇬🇧

          • It’s a national characteristic. We are addicted to crises. We engineer them just so we can prove to ourselves how good we are at getting out if them 🙂

          • As Paul says we like crises and given the way in which the geopolitical situation is developing, boy are we cooking up a biggie this time…

            IF we can get out of this one I’ll be beyond impressed and if I’m still around to brag about it I’ll only be too pleased to bore you silly about British ingenuity…

            Cheers CR

          • Have always been quite curious whether there was a significant group of observers during the 1930s who comprehended the probable course of geopolitical events? Obviously, W.S. Churchill, and probably some of rhe professional military class, such as Dowding, Montgomery, etc., discerned the future. However, did the general public grasp the seriousness of events prior to the capitulation at Munich? By the time it became intuitively obvious, was the die already cast? “Alea jacta est” (Latin(ish) quote). 🤔

          • If I remember rightly Churchill was reportedly something of a lonely voice has the Nazis’ rose to power. However, as Germany’s rearmament program became increasingly obvious and undeniable attitudes slowly changed. The horrors of the Spanish Civil War also had an effect. There remained a number of powerful people who did not see Nazis Germany as a threat with many thinking that Germany had a right to defend itself and so rearm. Fortunately, there were enough realists around…

            As for the capitulation at Munich? Well I used to think it was a straight forward betrayal of Czechoslovakia, but as I have learnt more about the times I have realised that things were much more nuanced. Chamberlain went to Munich having just come out of a very sobering briefing by Dowding. Fighter Command was still largely equipped with biplane fighters, only 4 squadrons had Hurricanes and there were NO Spitfires yet in service. Vickers Supermarine were still struggling to build the totally new monocoque structure, eliptical winged fighter. Worse the Chain Home radar stations were not completed and the radar still was not ready (in the end they were still frantically making critical modifications in the days leading up to 9th September!). Remember the bombing raids in Spain..! Those He111 were faster than most of the RAF fighters and those fighters were blind in 1938!

            So Chamberlain probably went to Munich with Dowding pleading in his ears for more time to get ready for the war most people now felt was inevitable… Chamberlain must have been horrified at the lack of preparedness given what was happening in Europe. If it was me I would have felt completely naked and exposed in front of two of the worste dictators in history. Yes Chamberlin made the “far away lands speech” but by the 1930’s and advent of radio such speeches were no longer just heard and read at home – every developed nation had listening stations. So playing down our intentions may have been aimed at buying time. We may never really know.All that we really know is that is was a ‘damned close run thing’.

            Munich was not our finest hour, but we were so hopelessly unprepared we probably had little real option. We should also remember the state France was in, and she was our main ally at the time…

            This sad state of affairs in 1938 is one of the reason why I am so concerned about today’s geopolitical situation. Ukraine is our Spanish Civil War and we need to take heed… Our preparedness in the West is not what it should be, our collective responsive is patchy at best and there are some in powerful positions who actually admire Putin!

            The weather in Southern England is sunny this morning, but thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon – sums up where I think we are, frankly.

            CR

          • Ugly duckling… I like it! The T45 always had an impressive air defence system, but now that it’s propulsion system is being sorted, CAMM and NSM to be fitted soon as well and you have a pretty reasonable piece kit…

            As you say lucky to have the Rivers. Expensive they may have been but they are delivering in service. If the T26 and T31 deliver as well then the future looks OK for the RN. I just think we need much more than we are procuring, given the way the geopolitical situation is developing. Both sides are slowly upping the anti in Ukraine and even Jeremy Bowen on the BBC website is now saying that the war will keep going while Putin is alive (or Ukraine loses, I guess). If he is right and frankly I think he is then there is plenty of time for things to get well out of control.

            We need to rearm, sooner rather than later. It is getting urgent.

            Cheers CR

          • The use we are getting out of the Rivers is the reward for the RN taking a pragmatic stance with BAE when there was the contract kerfuffle; expensive perhaps from a pure accounting point of view but priceless in terms of rebuilding skills for T26 construction, which seems to be on schedule. It looks as if T31 builds were started before some aspects of the design were finalised. There’s been an RN contingent on board Venturer since July 23 so hopefully we will get a good frigate.

          • Agree with your point about the benefits of the Rivers. Rebuilding engineering skills takes years and then can only be achieved if there is something for said engineers to do..!

            It is something I bang on about on here a lot. 15 years to train and gain experience for a professional design engineer, 10 years easily for a skilled engineering worker and that is just for starters. You never stop learning because engineering never stops moving forward. Compare Leander Class with T26, both built in my lifetime..! Sopwith Camel (1917) to De Haviland Comet (1952), also one lifetime..!

            As for T31, well I think it is the first frigate Babcock have ever built? As such they ain’t doing too badly, although I would prefer to hear more about how they are getting on. As others have pointed out Babcock used to give regular updates that seem to have dried up of late. Never a good sign. Having the RN crew ‘on board’ means the navy is well aware of any issues so no doubt they will win through in the end.

            Cheers CR

          • Perhaps even restore the hull mounted sonar to functionality, and update to current standard? Future ChiCom SSNs may qellt prove to be hazardous to allied shipping.

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