UK risks loss of influence should MCM capability slip
Senior former UK defence officials have said that the country should renew its MCM fleet once the current Hunt and Sandown classes leave service, given the importance of their role in the Arabian Gulf and offering a key capability that its US ally relies heavily upon.
The RN operates two Hunt-class and two Sandown-class (foreground of picture) MCM vessels in the Gulf with the primary role of defeating any attempted mining of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil is carried. This is a crucial task, given the UK’s demand for resources and the 39 million
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