HMS Lancaster retires and leaves Royal Navy with a hole to fill in the Middle East

The Royal Navy has lost another warship after HMS Lancaster retired following almost 35 years protecting Britain and her interests across the seas. 

The Type 23 frigate served almost double the ship's intended lifespan, making her the longest serving of her kind. 

Across three decades, she was deployed throughout the world, including the Caribbean, Africa and East of Suez tackling piracy, arms smuggling and drugs running. 

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By the end, her crew had seized a total of £150m worth of illegal substances. 

However, since 2022, she has been operating from the UK Naval Support Facility in Bahrain, promoting regional stability in a fragile corner of the Middle East on Operation Kipion. 

The vessel was armed with 32 Sea Ceptor missiles, making HMS Lancaster and her other Type 23 frigates a valuable defence against missile and drone attacks. 

In 2023, she was the first ship on task in the Red Sea when Iran-backed Houthi rebels started targeting naval and merchant shipping.