Devonport-based Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset has fired a Sting Ray torpedo off the coast of Scotland as part of ongoing anti-submarine warfare training.
The ship’s Twitter feed noted the exercise on 7 October and described the firing as a valuable training opportunity for both weapon engineers and the warfare department.
Always ready for Anti Submarine Operations #HMSSomerset fired another Stingray Torpedo. A great exercise for both the Weapon Engineers and the Warfare department. #Stingray #Torpedo #F82 #MTLS #ASW#WeAreNato #NATO #SNMG1 pic.twitter.com/2WlEStiofT
— HMS Somerset (@HMSSomerset) October 7, 2025
The firing forms part of a routine programme of at sea drills designed to keep the ship’s anti submarine skills sharp and to validate shipboard handling, launch and target acquisition procedures. Somerset has also been practising replenishment at sea with RFA Tidesurge to ensure the frigate can remain on station and sustained during extended operations.
Earlier in the month, the ship completed the first firing of a Naval Strike Missile as part of AEGIR 25, demonstrating long-range anti-ship capability alongside its ASW work.
HMS Somerset is a Type 23 frigate based at HMNB Devonport and normally sails with a company of around 185. The ship is fitted for anti submarine operations with twin 324 mm Sting ray torpedo tubes and towed sonar capability. Her weapon fit includes a 32 cell Sea Ceptor vertical launch system and two quad Naval Strike Missile launchers, while she can operate a Wildcat HMA2 or Merlin HM2 helicopter for anti submarine and over the horizon strike tasks.
The Wildcat can carry Sea Venom anti ship missiles at initial operating capability from October 2025, and the Merlin can carry multiple torpedoes for hunting submarines. Somerset uses a combined diesel electric and gas propulsion arrangement and has a range of around 7,500 nautical miles at cruising speed.
A capability that will be lost when the Type 26 enters service
True, but we may gain ASROC, which is a worthwhile trade.
‘May’ is the word, ASROC is years away, even if they were to go ahead with it.
How does ASROC compare to the Ikara I recall the RN having on some Leander in my youth?
The hard stats aren’t that different. VL-ASROC only flies a couple kilometres further than the Ikara, and only a little faster.
The internals are very different though.
Doesn’t that depend on whether we use a straight ASROC conversion to Stingray or develop our own supersonic rocket, as BAE appear to be doing?
Of course. We’ve seen both Japan and India develop much larger systems both for the Mk41 and other VLS, so I expect that anything BAE comes up with would be closer to those missiles rather than to the VL-ASROC.
another option would be the use of a drone as a delivery system, as has been demonstrated in the recent exercises in Portugal
Or we could just license the Japanese rocket which is probably the best on the market barring the deck launched MBDA offering.
they did, but were removed soon after the fitting along with the ship’s that they’d been fitted in.
Not really because the torpedo on top of the Asroc Rocket motor is far inferior to Sting Ray in every single Measurement.
If you need to fire Asroc you have messed up and not killed the sub at range with a Helo.
MTLS is ideal for Working in Fjiords where sonar detection is problematic and the need for a snapshot is far greater.
Although if you’re talking about some of the better systems you could argue they complement better.. the Japanese type 07 system is a more than 30Km range supersonic booster.. so it would get a torpedo in the water a lot faster than the small ship flight and the mark 97 lightweight torpedo seems to be pretty good.. closer to stingray than the US offering and the type 12 lightweight is meant to be one of the best on the market for enclosed waters.
I hope it’s not ASROC be use to be honest the RUM-139 is probably the most inferior of the rocket deployed torpedoes available.. personally I would go with the japan Type 07 vertical-launch anti-submarine rocket, it’s a supersonic rocket ( vs the subsonic RUM-139) it’s got a range of over 30Km vs the 22km of RUM-139 and it’s got an option of different payload torpedoes. That goes in a MK41 silo…the other decent option is a MBDA ( Italy ) missile that will throw a torpedo over 35km away… but it’s deck launched.. which could have an advantage put 8 of those on a type 26 and you still have 24 MK41 silos for cruise missiles ( which is what is best to put in them).
According to a certain know it all on here we don’t need this capability as the helicopter will always 100% without fail without exception absobloodylutely always be available to deliver the weapon to the target.
Until the one time it develops a sudden fault at the worst possible time and there’s an angry enemy sub sniffing around. Then the hideously expensive best in the world anti sub frigate becomes a toothless sitting duck. And we all know we have precious few assets to back it up, never mind replace it!
If I’ve learned one thing in life the unexpected has a nasty habit of occurring at the worst possible time….
And MTLS never goes wrong… And missile systems are always 100% available until they are not…
Of course a certain know it all would only have 30 plus years of experience to look back on… Most of it working Air Weapons on FF/DD which includes STWS, MTLS, Helos and weapons… 😉
And MTLS never goes wrong… And missile systems are always 100% available until they are not…
Of course a certain know it all would only have 30 plus years of experience to look back on… Most of it working Air Weapons on FF/DD which includes STWS, MTLS, Helos and weapons… 😉
And let’s not forget Awfully Slow Warfare. Is a team sport in real life with multiple escorts, Helos and aircraft (fixed and rotary and soon drone)
Morning Gunbuster (Legend as mentioned recently by DM) I haven’t come across your posts before so having seen your name mentioned in despatches, I’m rather interested to see what you have to say.
30 years seems a good foundation period which should allow for pretty informed debate, how would you compare to a person in a comfy chair with a worn out Key Board for knowledge ? It appears you have attracted a real expert above/below !!!!
Ain’t retirement fun ? I’m doing shit loads around the House now I have time, Porch built and finished now on to the Living room, got a start on our Medea Wall currently, lots of gadgets and remotes !
put them on a river along with all the other weapon suggestions
With ASW you need to be able to go slow so prop/hull/machinery noise doesn’t drown the faint signals.
The next issue is that Rivers were absolutely not quietened in any way at all. So they would deafen themselves.
You need a certain amount of fowards way to keep the towed array at the right depth.
Different variant concept containers that can be swapped out in the mission bay, including torpedo launchers. Naval Lookout has a good article called ‘Refining the requirements for the Type 26 frigate mission bay’
being able to shoot them out of the mission bay makes senseBbut wouldn’t happen
the systems could be crosssdecked to a T31. there is upper deck space for it.
I do prefer warships to be well armed, but are the ship launched torpedoes still relevant considering the ranges which submarines can operate! I appreciate the stingray torpedo is a quality weapon, but do we not need the ability to launch it from a mk 41 from the type 26, so it as a more offensive and less defensive weapon. Cheers.
I recall hearing they were looking into the various options of VLA torpedoes, that said I would still have some onboard torpedo launchers. I’d rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.
Agreed mate 👍
GB was the best person on here to answer on that point. He doesn’t seem to be on here much any-more.
Because I have now retired and am in the UK trying to sort my house out whilst waiting, so far, 10months to see a Cardiologist!!! 😂
Its down to where you want to use a weapon and detection ranges. MTLS is ideal in Fijords,, Asroc isn’t.
In open ocean towed array directing Dipper helos armed with Torpedoes or directing in Wildcat pony’s with torps is the way to go.
It is good to see you are still around, at least.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a U-Turn on fitting the T26’s with ASW torpedo tubes – whilst the overall utility of these may be limited, they can still be very useful in some circumstances such as quick reaction to a small underwater target (UUV?) detected at short range. Australia and Canada are fitting their variants with torpedo tubes, and Norway may press the UK to do the same for the variant it will share with the RN. Both Norway and the UK use the Sting Ray Mod 1, so maybe it will be possible to reuse ex-T23 launch systems, at least for the earlier T26’s?
Not to mention being useful when the helicopter decides to shit the bed at the worst possible time, something complex kit has a frustrating ability to do sometimes.
It won’t be reversed, there’s no indication of that
BAE had MTLS on their ‘T26 upgrade plan’ concept at DSEI, along with Artisan NG and the 40mk4, so it isn’t as remote a possibility as you suggest.
There are lots of things going on in the background ATM that would have been unthinkable 24 months ago.
Just have to see what the equipment plan brings as it requires ££££.
Did they manage to sink Scotland or did they miss the target?
If a torpedo from an English frigate had hit Scotland, the SNP would have complained to the UN by now.
That they haven’t begs the obvious question – how the hell did Somerset miss!
The crass attention-seeker in me wonders, “Does that mean HMS Somerset has used up its quota of NSM and Stingray for this year?”
The sensible in me wonders if there’s no torpedo tubes on the T26 because the RN don’t think they would be of any use?
I believethe Australian and Canadian T26s will carry torpedoes? The Mark 54, not Sting Ray. Don’t know about the Norwegian T26s.
What I wonder about is the new threat.. we all know the best way to deal with an SSN or electric boat is with a quit ship with a towed array guiding a small ship fight or 2…because the SSN and electric boat is not attritional asset.. they are not going to fling themselves straight at you or turn up in their 10s 20s 04 even greater amounts.. but that’s not going to be the case in the future… ASW is going to have to start considering attritional sub surface threats.. now that’s not clearly going to be a deep ocean issue for a carrier battle group etc as no drone is going to be able to keep up and attack.. but for ships that need to do their job in the littoral or for those shipping lanes in restricted seas.. it’s going to be quite possible that there would need to be a way to deal with very large numbers of sub surface suicide drones.. or even drones armed with torpedoes ( as china has been seen to have developed) . So how would in the future a type 26 and its small ship flight manage guarding a future MRSS against 20 sub surface drones that are all approaching where it’s offloading ?