The British Navy is on the verge of collapse

The Royal Navy – the British Navy – is facing collapse. This is reflected in the withdrawal of two Albion-class combat frigates from service due to an alarming shortage of sailors, as reported and echoed by many British media outlets. Spanish media the reason.

After trying to unify the crews of the two ships to no avail, as they did not obtain a sufficient number of sailors to deploy them in the Red Sea – amid an enhanced presence to protect civilian maritime transport – the decision was made to withdraw the two ships from active service until it was possible to appoint a sufficient number of crew members. The two ships affected were HMS Westminster and HMS Argyll, two recently refitted Type 23 frigates.

In 2014, HMS Westminster underwent a redesign that modified its main armament, including the Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile system, with twice the range of the previous system. The Sea Ceptor makes this ship “better equipped than ever to meet the challenges of 21st century warfare,” as described on the Royal Navy’s website. However, it has now been decided for her retirement, which will take place in 2024.

The newspaper quoted British government sources The Daily Telegraph They justify dismantling the ships, stressing that it is “the right decision,” because they are old. They explained that “the new Type 26 frigates will be in service before those ships are re-equipped,” without going into the shortage of personnel in the British Armed Forces.

The British Navy is experiencing a serious decline in recruitment, as highlighted by Sky News, reaching a situation that military sources define as a “general collapse” in the flow of new recruits into the service.

There is a shortage of up to 35% of personnel in some areas, which can be attributed to several factors: errors in data analysis to aid recruitment, and the inability of the government itself to ensure that armed forces salaries rise in line with inflation. And serious problems to avoid the “escape” of already recruited people, in case there are more casualties than additions.