HMS Richmond waved off from Plymouth for eight month deployment
The frigate is joining the UK Carrier Strike Group
Plymouth-based frigate HMS Richmond left the city today (Tuesday 22nd April) to join the UK’s flagship on the Royal Navy’s headline deployment of 2025.
The submarine hunter, set sail from Devonport Naval Base and will spend most of the next eight months protecting aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and other ships which make up the UK Carrier Strike Group.
She was waved on her way by families who gathered as sailors have done for decades at Devil’s Point.
An hour later, she was followed into Plymouth Sound by Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec which is also assigned to the carrier force for much of the remainder of 2025.
The group will work with NATO allies in the Mediterranean before moving on to the Indo-Pacific region with major exercises off Japan and Australia, before making the return journey and home in time for Christmas.
Richmond is the shield to the aircraft carrier’s sword, part of the ring of steel drawn around the task group to protect it from hostile eyes and ears as well as potential threats.
HMS Richmond leaves Plymouth for eight month deployment
In the case of HMS Richmond, in sync with her Merlin Mk2 helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, the first duty is to keep hostile submarines at a long arm’s length from the allied force.
Beyond that she can be called upon for a host of duties and missions: board and search operations to counter smuggling/drug-running/terrorist activity, provide air defence with her Sea Ceptor missiles, naval gunfire support should targets ashore need pounding, disaster relief and much more.
Commander Richard Kemp, HMS Richmond’s Commanding Officer said:
“I am eager to embark on what promises to be a challenging and rewarding deployment as part of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group.
“My team in HMS Richmond have worked incredibly hard to prepare themselves and the Ship for the exciting period ahead and I am extremely proud of their efforts.”
Leading Hand Martin Tutchings, one of the frigate’s weapons engineers, said: “I’m really excited to deploy and do what I joined the Navy to do, travel the world and contribute to operations around the globe.”