With the UK RN due to retire its Hunt- and Sandown-class mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs) from 2023, and with the Defence Command Paper finally confirming that there will be no like-for-like replacement, time is tight to ensure that there will not be a gapping of such a crucial capability.
Given that two of the UK’s shipbuilding primes — BAE Systems on the River Clyde and Babcock at Rosyth — are already busy with Type 26 and Type 31 programmes respectively, the design and build options further exacerbate the MCM timeline.
Babcock’s Type 31 frigate programme was revealed in August 2020