Written question asked by James Cartlidge (Conservative) on Monday, 2 December 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 4 December 2024. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Tuesday, 10 December 2024 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

HMS Northumberland

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the potential operational implications are of retiring HMS Northumberland in March 2025.

Answer: The retiring of HMS NORTHUMBERLAND in March 2025 will have no impact on current operations. During her planned refit period, significant structural damage was discovered. This would have taken a major amount of time and financial resource to rectify and offered very limited operational return upon completion. As a result, her refit was judged to be uneconomical. HMS NORTHUMBERLAND and her sister Type 23 frigates will be succeeded by eight Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare and five Type 31 General Purpose Frigates. These are already in build and the first will be in service before the end of the decade.

Secondary information