Royal Navy: HMS Lancaster future addressed with timeframe given for when she'll be out of the fleet - when

A written question was raised in parliament about when HMS Lancaster will retire from the active service fleet. Conservative MP Mark Francois, of the Rayleigh and Wickford constituency, asked the Ministry of Defence about the Type 23 frigate.

Labour MP Luke Pollard, parliamentary under-secretary for defence, said: “On current plans, the last Type 23 frigate will transition out of service in 2035. To avoid compromising operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not routinely disclose individual out of service dates or specific in-service dates for warships to avoid revealing elements of the Fleet's long-term schedule.”

Type 23 frigates are due to be replaced by two classes of modernised warships. The Type 26 frigate programme will see eight City-class vessels built by BAE Systems’ engineers in Scotland. This includes HMS Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh and London.

The primary role of the ships will be to conduct advanced anti-submarine warfare missions, but will also be asked to fend off aerial threats with Sea Ceptor missiles. They will also serve a general purpose role, taking part in disaster relief operations. Frigates will be fitted with an adaptable mission bay to fit squadrons and equipment such as drones, mine-hunting technology or Royal Marines raiding teams.

Type 31 frigates are also being developed for the Royal Navy, with construction work to build HMS Venturer, Active, Formidable, Bulldog and Campelltown taking place at the Babcock International Shipyard in Rosyth, Scotland. The Inspiration-class vessels are 60 larger than their Type 23 counterparts but require a 60 per cent smaller crew.

They will be equipped with a 57mm main gun with programmable ammunition to fend off threats on land, sea and in the air. Other weapons systems include two 40mm Bofors guns, the Sea Ceptor air defence missile system, a 4D radar, one of the largest flight decks in the navy and a large hold to fit equipment for specific missions. New ships of both classes are due to be rolled in the late 2020s and during the 2030s.

HMS Lancaster has recently been operating in the Middle East alongside Bahrain, Jordan and other nations as part of Operation Kipion.