Citing a report by the U.K. Ministry of Defense, The Telegraph reported on Dec. 14 that the Royal Navy’s destroyer fleet is now down to two ships, out of a total of six advanced vessels, the Type 45 destroyers. These destroyers “form the backbone of the Royal Navy’s air defense capability,” says the report. “Built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare, the ships, however, have been facing various maintenance issues.”
According to the report, four of the Type 45 destroyers are undergoing extensive repairs, maintenance or other work in dock in Portsmouth, leaving the British fleet at its smallest size in over a century. “One of the six, HMS Daring, has spent more time in the refit yard than at sea since it was commissioned 12 years ago. And of the eight Type-23 frigates—smaller ships a class below the destroyers—only six are currently operational, according to the MOD.”
“Mike Martin, the MP for Tunbridge Wells and a member of the defense select committee, told The Telegraph: ‘These reports of only two operational destroyers are extremely concerning. Destroyers provide air defense and with only two destroyers, we simply cannot defend London, let alone the United Kingdom.’”
Earlier this month, British Ministry of Defense official Alistair Carns admitted that the U.K. is not prepared to fight a war on a scale similar to the Ukraine conflict. He noted that in the event of an actual conflict, the U.K. would run out of soldiers in six months to a year.
