Former Royal Marines chief warns of capability gap after axing of HMS Albion and Bulwark

A former head of the Royal Marines has expressed concerns over the axing of amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.

Defence Secretary John Healey announced the Landing Platform Docks would be decommissioned earlier than planned as part of a series of cost-cutting measures expected to save defence up to £500m over the next five years.

Retired Major General Buster Howes has warned Royal Marines won't be as effective operating from RFA vessels which have supported recent Commando deployments and training.

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"There's a saying in the military, that you need to spit not dribble. You can't do very much with 160 bootnecks coming off an RFA, you just can't," the former Royal Marines Commandant General told BFBS Forces News.

"To fill the gap of the Landing Platform Dock, they've sort of modified the Bay-class Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship and that will take one company of Royal Marines.

"The Albion-class LPD would take 405 marines or 710 at overload."

Mr Healey said the two vessels were not expected to set sail again and had been effectively retired by previous ministers but had superficially been kept on the books at a cost of £9m a year.

Helicopters, drones and other ships, including HMS Northumberland, are being axed as part of the cuts which Mr Healey says are designed to modernise and save cash.

Maj Gen Howes said he received the news with "weary resignation".

"Amongst the boys, there will be, I suspect, a sort of sense of confusion at the message it sends but also hopefully a faith that this will come right." 

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have expressed concern over the capability gap left by the early decommissioning of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.

The multi-role support ships, which are due to replace Albion and Bulwark, as well as four RFA vessels, are not expected to enter service until the early 2030s.

In an opinion piece for BFBS Forces News, retired Royal Navy Commodore Steve Prest said the decommissioning leaves a "painful" LPD capability gap at an "unfortunate" time amid increasing tensions.

Despite the concerns, he added this is "not the death knell" for the Marines and that a number of nations are keen to purchase the ships.

Mr Healey said the decisions were made in close consultation with service chiefs and there will be a boost for the Royal Marines in the upcoming Strategic Defence Review.