Royal Navy Plans to Withdraw its Sole Frigate in Bahrain

The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy appears about to withdraw its permanently deployed frigate in the Gulf, HMS Lancaster.

HMS Lancaster (F229), a Type 23 frigate, is approaching the much-delayed end to its working life, having been the forward deployed frigate home-based at the UK’s Naval Support Facility in Bahrain. Although the UK has had a naval base in Bahrain since 1935, the facility was rebuilt at the expense of the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2018, on the basis that HMS Juffair, as it was renamed, would be the permanent home station to at least one frigate. Until recently, besides the forward deployed frigate, the base also supported minesweepers of the 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary logistics vessel.

When HMS Lancaster returns home within the next few months to be decommissioned, the only Royal Navy operational ship remaining in Bahrain will be the Hunt-class minesweeper HMS Middleton (M34), with the Sandown Class minesweeper HMS Bangor (M109) dry-docked locally for repair after a collision with USS Gladiator (MCM-11).

The withdrawal of HMS Lancaster, notwithstanding the political ramifications, has been necessitated primarily by the withdrawal of Type 23 frigates from service before their replacements - the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and the Type 31 frigate - start coming into service in 2028. Using rotational crews, service aboard HMS Lancaster has generally been popular, as the vessel is almost continual operational - on anti-smuggling duties and committed to keeping the Straits of Hormuz open under the watchful eyes of the Iranian Navy and IRGC. HMS Lancaster has made two major drug seizures in recent months. She has also been trialling the use of Peregrine remote-controlled mini-helicopters for broadening the swathe of its surveillance sweep out to 100 miles while at sea.

HMS Lancaster's crew carries out a drug bust, May 2025 (UK MoD)