Five names to rally and inspire sailors and Royal Marines now and for the future have been selected for Britain’s next generation of frigates. Britain’s senior sailor First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin announced the names of the Type 31 frigates – which will now be known as the Inspiration class. Approved by Her Majesty The Queen, HMS Active, Bulldog, Campbeltown, Formidable and Venturer draw their names from warships and submarines whose deeds and missions are intended to reflect and inspire current and future Royal Navy operations.
Each name has been selected to represent key themes and operations which will dominate and shape the global mission of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines: carrier operations (Formidable); operational advantage in the North Atlantic (Bulldog); forward deployment of ships around the globe to protect UK interests (Active); technology and innovation (Venturer); and the Future Commando Force (Campbeltown). The names of the five future frigates were revealed at the First Sea Lord’s Seapower conference held in Arundel House.
This “maritime resurgence” has brought with it a rebirth of Britain’s shipbuilding industry to provide modernised forces – but the government expects “increased presence” as a result, embodied by the global missions of the Inspiration class. The Type 31s replace five general-purpose Type 23 frigates which have served the Royal Navy with distinction since the early 1990s. All five Inspiration-class vessels will be assembled at the Babcock yard in Rosyth, where a new construction hall is nearing completion.
The Type 31 frigate or Inspiration class, also known as the Active Class, and formerly known as the Type 31e frigate or General Purpose Frigate (GPFF), is a planned class of frigate for the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy intended to enter service in the 2020s alongside the Type 32 frigate, and the more capable Type 26 frigate. The first steel is due to be cut on the ships this summer and all five will operate alongside Type 26 or City-class frigates which will be dedicated submarine hunters and will replace the equivalent specialist Type 23s.
