HMS Lancaster goes back to her anti-submarine roots with Sting Ray launch

HMS Lancaster has been pictured launching a Sting Ray torpedo into the sea during an Anti-Submarine Warfare training exercise.

The Royal Navy Type 23 vessel is classed as a general purpose frigate as she is not equipped with the Sonar 2087 towed array that's carried by her more modern sub-hunting sister ships.

But the release of the Sting Ray torpedo from her onboard launch system proves she is still up to the task.

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"Being a general purpose Type 23 frigate, it would be easy to forget our roots," HMS Lancaster posted on social media.

"Ensuring we still have a sting in our Anti-Submarine Warfare capability, we keep our skills honed."

Lancaster, a Duke-class frigate, is capable of deploying with Wildcat maritime attack helicopters, which can also carry Sting Ray torpedoes.

Earlier this year, fellow Type 23 frigate HMS Portland released equally impressive footage of her own torpedo launch on social media.

Operational since the 1980s and designed to counter submarine targets of all types, Sting Ray has been used by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

In addition to the Wildcat, the weapon can be dropped from the RAF's P-8 Poseidon aircraft as well as the Royal Navy's Merlin helicopters.

In November 2023, the RAF announced that it had chosen the Sting Ray as its future torpedo capability, alongside the US Mk54 weapon, for the Poseidon.