Labour MP Alex Ballinger has warned that the Royal Navy’s surface fleet has “sadly diminished”, raising concerns about the UK’s ability to meet growing security commitments across multiple theatres.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on NATO and the High Arctic, Ballinger responded to a question from Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty about whether the UK could sustain commitments in several regions simultaneously, including the Middle East, Norway and the High North.
Obese-Jecty noted that the UK had committed to deploying a carrier strike group to the region later this year as part of Operation Firecrest, intended to deter Russian naval activity from the Kola Peninsula into the wider North Atlantic.
He warned that simultaneous commitments elsewhere could stretch available capability. “With the emergence of the conflict in the middle east, a potential commitment to a post-conflict force in Ukraine, a commitment to troops in Norway and Operation Firecrest, does he share my concern that we may have to make some very difficult decisions about how much capability we are able to deploy to ensure that our interests are looked after across all those fronts?” he asked.
Ballinger agreed that the issue reflected a broader challenge for the UK’s armed forces, saying the Royal Navy now operates fewer major surface combatants than in previous decades while still being expected to meet a wide range of operational commitments.
“The hon. Member makes a good point. Our naval capability has sadly diminished; we have fewer destroyers and frigates than we used to, and we are rightly deploying some of those to the Mediterranean and the middle east at the moment,” he said. He added that difficult choices could arise depending on how events develop in other regions. “There will have to be hard choices as we approach that timescale,” he said, noting that the situation in the Middle East could influence the UK’s ability to sustain deployments elsewhere.
Ballinger also referenced comments made by the First Sea Lord about the growing strategic importance of the High North and the need for increased warfighting readiness in the region. He said the head of the Royal Navy had warned that “the advantage that we have enjoyed in the Atlantic since the end of the Second World War is at risk” if action is not taken to strengthen capabilities.
The MP questioned whether sufficient resources were being allocated to the region, pointing to the ongoing retirement of anti-submarine Type 23 frigates and asking whether replacements would be available in time. “We continue to retire Type 23 frigates—anti-submarine ships. Five have retired since 2021, including HMS Lancaster most recently, but are we retiring them before replacements are ready?” he said.
Ballinger noted that the forthcoming Type 31 frigates would help address capability gaps but said reassurance was needed about timelines and the potential risks if delays occur. He also stressed the importance of the Royal Marines’ Arctic warfare expertise but said specialist troops must be supported by sufficient logistics, lift and surveillance assets to operate effectively in the region.
“We can announce deployments, launch missions and make speeches about the High North, but if we do not publish a clear investment plan that is costed and credible, our adversaries will conclude that the UK strategy is stronger in rhetoric than in reality,” he said. He warned that the UK faces a practical test as global pressures increase, adding: “The question is not whether we can deploy ships to other regions on paper; it is whether we can do it without hollowing out our commitments to other parts of the world.”
Really! Who would have known?
No shit, Sherlock 🤷🏻♂️
Beat me too it.
Was just about to write the same.
The political class cut out armed forces to frankly scandalous levels and then bemoan our reduced capabilities. You really couldn’t make it up.
The French FDI ships come in at about £600m, the Type 31 around £350m
A solution if there was will would be to equip a second batch of T31 with a similar fit to FDI. Some moderate noise control, Even purchasing the French integrated Thales mast system, Aster 30, decent hull and towed sonar.
That would bolster the small numbers of available T45.
Nothing will get sorted for a 5-10 years so it’s going to be a painful time.
They have plenty of half decent bow sonars and towed arrays already. Every decommissioned Type-23 had a decent bow sonar. Not a brilliant one but a decent one by today’s standards. There are also spare towed arrays from all the decommissioned TAPS Type-23s. You don’t need Aster-30s on a ASW frigate but having a drone that could deliver a stingray torpedo would be a requirement because we don’t have enough Wildcats as far as I can tell. The most expensive element though is going to be the acoustic control. It would all depend how much the designed drifted from the Type-31’s parent as measures taken to quiet that could be applied to the Type-31.
Unfortunately, despite his comments being valid, all this then becomes is a case of one party blaming each other without any meaningful discussions taking place. Some MPs may mean well, but unless their dissent is coordinated, it won’t achieve much.
Diminished – it’s been nearly wiped out!
Talk about the flaming obvious! Sadly, all the new ships under construction achieve is the same number of hulls we had ten years ago. The Type 31 is now capable of increasing if the Treasury will allow. The flow rate is impressive, and the builders are keen to boost RN hulls if orders are forthcoming. As for Type 26, some closer cooperation with Norway’s 26s could effectively increase the fleet, but I doubt the MOD will place new orders. The only affordable way to boost RN hulls is with remotely operated lightweight vessels for UK/Europe coast duties, allowing principle crewed ships to go global.
Sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you can see the need to climb back up.. just maybe our nation has seen the bottom and realises it needs to climb back up…
The problem is I think most people have missed it and are more interested in
1) accusing Starmer of being a coward for not kissing the Trump ring.
2) accusing Starmer of being a warmonger in the thrall of the US..
Nobody really seems to be saying what have we become as a nation when we don’t have the Navy to protect our sovereign territory, citizens or even have the option of turning up… we are an island sitting on one of the most important Geostrategic points on the planet.. we have sovereign soil stretching across the globe from the North Atlantic to the southern ocean, from the Mediterranean to the pacific…. We have no option to be Belgium.. we have a strong powerful navy backed up by an airforce or we will be attacked in some way no ifs no buts…
These MP’s are getting very bright aren’t they.? I wonder what will happen?
If five T23s have been retired do they think they might be able to reactivate at least 1 maybe 2 fron this pool? Those that maybe still potentially could have some life left, 1, 2, 3+ years? There must be a large pool of Artisan, 30mm, CAMM launchers, TWS, sonar etc sitting around somewhere? Some of this may be already going onto the T26s, i don’t know.
And also with the Albion. Argus has gone, MRSS not existent yet, why not spend a few quid and a bit of paint, give her some CAMM, NSM, Artisan, Phalanx, 30/40 or even a 57mm, build a hangar structure, utilise its well deck and bring her back to life you’ve still got a useful platform to work with the Bays even a mothership of sorts. Could be utilised as a training ship later.
Just to add; where the davits are maybe there’s room there for POD containerised weapons/drones?
I’d say we need to concentrate on the ones that exist. I don’t understand what happened to Argyll, but the other dead frigates need to remain dead. Iron Duke is another question mark. Rumours circulate that she won’t be worked up after the current maintenance period. Officially she should start working up again by the end of this month. This the sort of thing we need to get on top of if we want to maximise frigate availability. I’d have sent her to the Gulf to replace Lancaster, but apparently she was too valuable here in the UK. So valuable, believeable rumours say she’s going to be left to rot instead.
For heaven’s sake don’t kill Kent under any circumstances — I don’t care if it’s another £100m or more. I’d say let Somerset and Sutherland wither and die at the end of their terms, like Richmond, but don’t kill them before that. Pour any resources saved into Portland, St Albans and Kent. It’s the only hope of having sufficient ASW capability in the first few years of the next decade. Managing Portland and St Albans’ next refits to time with the arrival of the T26s will be particularly difficult.
The T23s are now mainly found to be unable to operate further as they’ve been run far too long. Literally falling apart no matter the hope of treasury money men to extend service even further until replacements are ready.
Clueless as usual.
Anyone with even a passing interest in British defence matters could have told these people that at least 15 years ago.
Nicely rigged question from Obese-Jecty, though, as an ex military man he already knew the answer.
So evidence that he’s made the transition to politician..
Let us see no more twatting about in the China Sea for a start! What pathetic posturing that was and now we have nothing in the Gulf or the Med. Faffing around in China’s back yard to really show them how hard we are…..a pathetic waste of fuel frankly.
The real pathetic posturing is China claiming & annexing the SCS, destroying the local environment creating island bases on atolls that slowly erode, while bullying neighbouring nations with far stronger claims. It is all international waters & air space, so it is China(CCP) that is pathetic.
Non of which we have the power to do anything about so we need to cut our cloth appropriately and try sorting our own problems out first. The last week have shown the limitations to our abilities and readiness. Just pray Hezbollah don’t get to test the strength of the gazebos at Akrotiri.
What many news outlets have omitted to mention is that there was already a French warship with the same(or even better versions) Aster SAM missiles that our T45s use on station off Cyprus plus Greek frigates. We do ned to invest in both home & deployable air defences, far byond the few systems we currently have though.
Pathetic.
Same conversations, same questions over and over again.
Wheres the solutions?
The concrete plans to speed up procurement, recruiting, and maintenance?
Bless the R Hon member for waking up! We’ve never had less destroyers or frigates than now since each became such. Our “Atlantic advantage” was history decades ago. We’d need to get back to 30++ escorts to be able to sustain naval ops on several fronts/theatres. Our forces are certainly the weakest since WW2 & we risk our way of life with so little to defend ourselves or contribute to our allies. Such are the threats & risks it is exactly now, in these times, that we need robust conventional deterrents. Russia & China are major threats, Trump is a major threat(could invade allies or any time), Islamic terroism is a major threat(& likely to get worse after Trumps stupid “let’s do Iran” venture with Israel &RW authoratarians & parties are rising amongst us, encouraged by most the former mentioned.
Pity HMGs all allowed the super charged enriching of the already super-rich while running down all our forces & defences, while hollowing out the rest of society. Just so they could get sweetheart tax breaks so all the wealth is in their hands. Now they want to dismantle freedoms & impose authoratarian control that allows them to squeeze wealth mercilessly from everyone else with no right to protest. That’s the end game we see being played out in the USA & what reform leads us towards. It’s what Trump & Farage admire about Putin. Do we want free & fair democracy or to become serfs within dictatorships?
Does anyone else have the exasperated, helpless feeling about the Armed Services and how governments of all flavours have destroyed them? Politicians love to talk them up, but those of us who know their current state, are aware that it’s far worse than anyone is ever willing to admit. The Treasury will not be crossed by even the Prime Minister when it comes to spending on the nation’s critically important priorities. When it hits the fan this time, the result will be large losses of manpower, a direct result of mismanagement and lack of funding. Will someone, for once, take those politicians and civil servants out into a courtyard and line them up? Until something like that happens, no one in the positions where they do the most damage will ever think any further than their pension.
Yes, it’s crazy. Plus despite the trumpeting of increased spending HMG still want more cuts/ cost savings.
Yes. very much.
The Peace Dividend delusion is over and we are not safe.
Time to pay the insurance premium for freedom or learn ruzzian
[CDS]
The Peace Dividend delusion has allowed politicians to safeguard their electoral prospects by shifting Defence spending to social provision and even war in Europe hasn’t enabled them to pivot back to Defence.
We bailed out the bankers in 2008 and now its their turn to invest in Defence since their business depends on peace and stability. Lower risk means lower cost for Defence Investment Bonds than standard Gilts.
Thus the 3.5% GDP Defence spending target for 2030, and 2.75% GDP for 2026 are affordable without tax increases. A long term investment plan for national security.
A requirement for a banking licence. Ethical investment means defending people that you expect to profit from.
Over to Finance Ministers to make it happen. Banks must do their Duty or face Windfall Taxes.