Things in the United Kingdom are definitely going from bad to gruesome, and, as far as their military is concerned, it’s on a scale that boggles the mind.
Of course, there have been recent hints and clues.
In March, as Iran heated up and Hormuz shut down, the question went up:
Middle East in flames – where is the Royal Navy?
Like, really. Aren’t they normally somewhere around?
…As an implacable enemy of Britain, the collapse of the despicable Iranian regime is very much in the UK’s interests. The Starmer government appears to be treading a confused line between support for Trump and disavowing involvement. Whether attempts at regime change by air and missile strikes can be achieved is highly questionable and may inevitably lead to unforeseen second-order consequences. Any form of Middle East intervention is now politically toxic in the UK, but even if there is no appetite to directly join the strikes on Iran, there are British interests to defend. Despite indications for several weeks, obvious to any casual observer, that this attack was on the way, UK military preparation appears to have been undercooked. The prepositioning of a Type 45 destroyer in the Eastern Mediterranean would seem to have been a bare minimum step, together with better contingency plans for personnel in Bahrain.
And I think it was the first time I saw the word ‘tiny‘ used in relation to the Royal Navy. As in:
…As recently as a decade ago, the RN maintained at least a few ships on deployment around the globe and in a crisis had options to quickly re-task assets to respond. This is no longer the case; only the 2 forward-deployed OPVs and submarine HMS Anson in Australia are east of Suez. There are no RN warships in the Mediterranean other than an RFA laid up in Gibraltar. Putting aside the deployment of Anson, countering the Russian threat is really the main priority, but events do not always account for such a delicate balance of resource management. This crisis further exposes the tiny number of combat-ready vessels the RN has available.
Only when Prime Minister Keir Starmer was thoroughly embarrassed by both the umbrage of the Cyprian president at the lack of British firepower to protect a British base on his island under missile attack from Iran, and the fact that the French had a boat to send when the British did not, did the scale of the decrepitness of trhe Royal Navy’s ‘tiny‘ fleet start to become horrifyingly apparent.
Somehow, they managed to rush a boat through its pre-deployment work-ups and shove it out to sea for show.
The effort, while well-intentioned, garnered these headlines.
The Royal Navy Sent a Warship to the Middle East. It Isn’t Doing Too Well.
HMS Dragon made it…technically…to the Mediterranean – the only British warship in the Eastern Mediterranean – but did not make it to station. It got sidetracked by ‘technical issues.’
The United Kingdom’s only warship deployed to the eastern Mediterranean during the Iran conflict has been forced into port over a “technical” issue, abruptly sidelining a key piece of Britain’s regional military presence as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s handling of the crisis.
The docking of HMS Dragon — a Type 45 destroyer tasked with defending U.K. assets and projecting force near the conflict zone — weakens Britain’s visible military posture at a sensitive moment, as a fragile U.S.-brokered pause takes hold and criticism from Trump administration officials and conservative voices builds over delays and restrictions that they say damaged London’s credibility with allies.
HMS Dragon was facing issues with its “onboard water systems,” which impacted water provisions for sailors on board, The Daily Mail first reported.
Kind of embarrassing.
And X has been full of reports of the Russian shadow fleet running fearlessly close to UK shores, basically with impunity.
Then off went the Prime Minister to Armenia this past weekend, to hobnob with his globalist European Union masters and see what he could do to bend the knee to earn further favor. It turns out that it only takes money.
The Bond villainess running the show wants £1B-a-year dues to join the EU club, and Starmer agreed to sign the UK up for the debt pool to finance the Ukrainian war and defense effort.
That little collective note will be setting its borrowers back by some £78B.
‘Where, oh, where,’ some observers of this off-site profligacy wondered, ‘will we ever find the money for OUR OWN DEFENSE if we’re paying for theirs?‘
Suspicions were already high that the defense of the British Isles was not high on Starmer’s to-do list, and that came shockingly into public confirmation yesterday.
As if the mortification in the Med last month wasn’t enough, the Royal Navy has been thoroughly exposed as naked after yet another vessel – the venerable HMS Iron Duke – experienced ‘technical difficulties’ only 3 years after a five-year, £100M rework and received the ship’s version of a racehorse with an irreparably broken leg. It’s been mercifully put down, after being cannibalized for everything they could possibly use from her.
…The Type 23 frigate, once a mainstay of the fleet and a regular presence shadowing Russian warships in waters close to the UK, has not been to sea since October and has reportedly been stripped of key weapons and sensors.
While no formal decommissioning has been announced, defence sources suggest the ship is unlikely to return to operational service, despite undergoing a £103 million life extension programme completed less than three years ago.
The Ministry of Defence has said any decision on the vessel’s future will be announced “in the usual way”.
Losing the Iron Duke has left the Royal Navy with a total of five frigates.
Five.
The Royal Navy has been left with just five key warships to defend Britain, according to reports.
The HMS Iron Duke was quietly retired from key duties after its weapons and sensors were removed. There had been no major announcement, despite the withdrawal coming just three years after a £103 million refit.
The frigate had suffered numerous technical issues since 2017 and more than 1.7 million man-hours have been spent in a bid to bring it up to standard. Its retirement has left the Royal Navy with just five frigates as the division’s budget comes under further constraints.
Engineers had been stripping parts from the vessel in order to use them on other warships in the Royal Navy. It had first been deployed in the 90s.
As for agreeing to spend all that money in Ukraine, there is no money available for the British defense budget until 2030.
…HMS Iron Duke’s departure emerged hours after another key advisor on defence, former general Sir Richard Barrons, launched a scathing attack on the government.
General Barrons said the Ministry of Defence was going ‘backwards’ on military investment.
Only last year the former Army commander was a close aide to the Defence Secretary John Healey and was a co-author of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR).
Another advisor, former Nato Secretary General George Robertson, broke ranks last month calling for urgent recapitalisation of Britain’s armed forces.
General Barrons said the Army has no money left to buy new weapons before 2030 and only ‘just about’ enough money for conventional platforms like helicopters.
Barrons also decried the government’s failure to public the blueprint for spending, the Defence Investment Plan (DIP).
He said: ‘The armed forces know what they have to do but they just don’t have the money to do it.
‘Our ability to defend our homeland, to make a contribution to Nato, is too thin. What actually has happened is that [spending] went backwards with the failure to settle the DIP, which should have been out in September [2025] and is still on the Prime Minister’s desk.’
They’ve called on Starmer to canx the Chagos deal and free those billions up.
It would be a start, but those are deaf ears.
IT UNDERLINES THE STARK REALITY WE NO LONGER HAVE A FUNCTIONING NAVY
“That is not a navy for a maritime nation, that’s a joke.”
Times Radio’s @afneil condemns the state of the modern British navy. pic.twitter.com/4kUOrs3PGI
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) May 5, 2026
RULE BRITANNIA…NO LONGER HAS A NAVY WORTHY OF THE NAME
Not to worry, naysayers and doomers!
Labour has the answer, and as always, it’s ‘hybrids’!
You know – like, drone boats, that don’t need no stinkin’ sailors.
…Today, the Ministry of Defence said: ‘The Royal Navy keeps planned out-of-service dates under continual review as part of routine force planning, balancing operational requirements and affordability. Any decommissioning decisions will be announced in the usual way.
‘Through the Strategic Defence Review, we are building a new hybrid navy – investing in world-class submarines and cutting-edge warships, transforming our aircraft carriers, and introducing autonomous vessels to patrol the North Atlantic and beyond.’
This makes the British Defense Secretary’s excruciating stuttering even worse, because the answer he finally gave to ‘How many frigates do we have in the fleet?’ turned out to be so appallingly off – exaggerated by a factor of three.
The time has come to remove Great Britain from its permanent seat on the United Nations security council.
The only reason the UK has a veto on the UN Security Council was because of its military victory at the end of WW2.
Now the British Navy cannot even keep one ship at sea. pic.twitter.com/kScUeaEXKL
— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) April 8, 2026
The Royal Navy now has more admirals than warships. (Mark Felton’s 12-minute documentary is here)
The British Royal Navy now has more Admirals than Warships.
The Navy that struggled to send a single destroyer to Sea to “Defend” a British base in Cyprus.
The situation is much worse than you think. It now has only 25 fighting assets. pic.twitter.com/w7b4Qdusdy
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) March 26, 2026
Drones don’t need admirals.
🚨🇬🇧 Royal Navy’s ‘Hybrid’ Pivot: Drones and AI to Counter Russia’s High North Ambitions
The Royal Navy will use its hybrid fleet, enhanced with autonomous and uncrewed vessels, to keep pace with Russia in the High North and North Atlantic, according to the service’s… pic.twitter.com/9WOhtIYJOo
— Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) May 4, 2026
There are now calls beginning to remove Britain from its permanent seat on the UN Security Council, as it doesn’t have the capability to keep even a single vessel at sea at any given time.
One of the seaworthy frigates was out chasing Russians this morning.
.@HMSSutherland at speed in the southern North Sea this morning .
🇷🇺Russian maintenance support ship, PM-82 in the vicinity.
Via @pegge49 pic.twitter.com/vem6iAY2Yr
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) May 5, 2026
Don’t think the Russians and everyone else aren’t keeping a close count of who’s where and when.
It’s pretty easy when you only need one hand.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
Help us continue to report on the administration’s peace through strength foreign policy and its successes. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
