The UK RN is progressing with plans to divest its mine countermeasure vessel fleet, confirming on 6 September that the service would retire all its remaining Sandown-class vessels by 2025.
The RN's other type of minehunters, the Hunt-class, will be phased out between 2029 and 2031.
Answering a parliamentary question about the plans to retire the mine countermeasure vessels, UK Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin said: 'On current plans, the Hunt-class Mine Countermeasures Vessels will leave service between 2029 and 2031 and the Sandown-class Mine Countermeasures Vessels will leave service between 2021 and 2025.'
In August,