Inside the UK's 'Fighting Clan' warship tasked with deterring Putin's subs

Metro

13-05-2025

It's a proud moment as HMS Sutherland passes through Tower Bridge on a journey into the heart of London that was last made by a warship of its class more than a decade ago.
Crowds soaking up the gloriously sunny weather on either side of the landmark wave to the crew lining the decks in their formal uniforms as the Type 23 frigate and its lead tug slip past.
There's a hush on the bridge punctuated only by radio chatter and instructions between the dozen or so officers and their 'pilot' sailor as they navigate a fiendishly tricky stretch of river for a warship primarily designed to hunt submarines in the open sea.
An Army piper on the bridge roof playing Scotland the Brave — a nod to the 'Fighting Clan's' roots — is one of the few sounds that can heard during the journey to rendezvous with WWII-era HMS Belfast at London Bridge.
The milestone was witnessed by the Metro yesterday as we became the first media outlet to go behind the scenes on the multi-purpose ship since it began a refit in 2020 that will put it at the cutting edge of the Royal Navy's mission to protect the UK's maritime security.
Originally designed for the principal task of submarine hunting, the frigate is part of a multi-billion-pound upgrade aimed at keeping the Navy ahead of assessed threats that include Russian military vessels tampering with critical underwater cables.
Behind the ceremony on deck, it's clear that minds are focused on challenges that include detecting and deterring Vladimir Putin's ships and submarines around the British coast and further out at sea in conjunction with the country's NATO allies.
Such incidents may seem commonplace but the Kremlin's vessels represent an evolving threat — one that could sever critical national systems impacting from 'Truro to Wick', Metro is told.
The regenerated Sutherland is due to be fully operational on anti-submarine patrols at an unspecified date next year after being refitted with some of the most advanced military technology available, including the latest version of the ground-to-air Sea Ceptor missile system, capable of intercepting targets at three times the speed of sound.
In the officers' mess, Lt Cdr Jones, a highly decorated former submariner, tells us: 'We are quite fortunate to be coming out of regeneration and to have been given some of the most cutting edge technology that there is.
'The only way to keep the UK safe is to constantly keep ahead of the threats that are out there and to give our operators the capability to do so.
'The Sutherland is unique in being a transitional 28-year-old vessel having such large and new equipment fitted ahead of it being fitted into the new class of warships, the types 26 and 31.
'Everything we are doing here will be a learning process that will inform the next generation of warships.
'Alongside the new equipment, we have a great sense of pride of what we do, so docking alongside HMS Belfast will help us to show that to the general public and demonstrate how we keep the UK's interests safe.'
Deep in the bowels of the ship, Metro is taken into the ops room — the nerve centre of any engagement with the enemy — to be shown how the technology might be deployed.
Around half a dozen warfare specialists sit at banks of controls in a dimly lit space little bigger than a living room, with a revolving captain's seat in the centre.
The simulation condenses several days into a few minutes and displays the multiple weapons systems on the Sutherland, whose motto is 'sans peur', or 'without fear'.
The area has been sanitised before we arrive to ensure no sensitive details are in sight. The crew speak to Metro under their second names.
In the scenario, the Sutherland has been shadowing a Russian ship in the North Atlantic for three days, supported by a RAF maritime patrol aircraft and a US destroyer.
A whistle from the electronic warfare team precedes a warning that the hostile vessel may be attempting to fire upon the Sutherland.
Sea Ceptor is launched to intercept the missile with the signal 'brace, brace, brace' before the attack is successfully neutralised.
The Sutherland then counter-fires using its lightweight Sting Ray torpedoes.
Critical decisions are taken by the young team in the space of seconds during the engagement, which ends with the ship's Merlin helicopter confirming that the submarine has surfaced and is leaving the area.
This time it's just a drill.
But Principal Warfare Officer Lt Cdr Priestley and his team know all too well of the threats lurking in the waters off the British coast.
'There is an increased threat of whoever are adversaries are meddling with our infrastructure undersea, whether it be cables, pipelines, internet cables, whatever it may be,' he says.
'That's something that's going to affect every facet of life now.
'Given what the impact could be, it's our job as an anti-submarine warfare frigate to have a look at that and prevent our adversaries from meddling and impacting everyone's lives.
'From the youngest to oldest, from Truro up to Wick, everyone stands to be impacted from the snip of a cable and this definitely focuses minds.'
Underpinning the fighting power is a world of logistics and administrative staff working below deck, and we tour the galley and dining areas, a medical bay, gym and launderette.
Chef Nawaqaliva, who has been in the Navy for 17 years after joining from Fiji, shows us a large tray filled with sailors' traditional favourite 'cheesy hammy eggy' toasties, but the kitchen is equally at home putting on Italian nights or catering for VIP guests.
'It's busy and long hours but it's rewarding as well,' the leading caterer says.
'I find when I'm busy time flies by and I've been to some good places and had some experiences with the Navy.
'I've learnt things I wouldn't have learnt in any other job.'
Space is at a premium in the ratings' sleeping quarters, which consist of three-person bunkbeds and are attached to small mess rooms with sofas and widescreen TVs. A wake up call on the day was given by the piper who played around the decks at 7am.
The average age on the ship is 27, meaning most of the crew were born many years after the Clyde-built frigate was launched with the smash of a whisky bottle against her hull at Yarrow yard in Glasgow, now BAE.
Inside a hangar readied with flags to receive VIP guests, Midshipman Houlberg, 19, is following in a family tradition of Navy service.
Originally eyeing a career as a military historian, he signed up during his A-levels, taking after his father and brother.
'I was on the QE [Queen Elizabeth] for six weeks in January, which was alongside, but this is my sea-going ship and it's been good to see it being regenerated into a fully operational warship,' the new recruit says.
'As a Warfare Officer I'll always say my favourite part is being on the bridge, but it's just been nice being out at sea.
'Once the ship is fully operational sometime next year I'll hopefully be on this or another Type 23 or 26 frigate and going out on TAPS [anti-submarine] patrols.'
Other crew members have swapped civilian life for a place on the frontline of Britain's maritime defence.
Leading Engineering Technician Coley was a car salesman before his current posting upgrading Sea Ceptor.
A common thread is his passion for downing overhead targets, and he combines representing the Navy at a national level in clay pigeon shooting with his work on the next generation air defence weapon.
As the journey along the Thames from the Metro's embarkation point via a pilot boat in Ramsgate, Kent, comes to an end, we pass landmarks including the Thames Barrier, the O2 and Canary Wharf.
While there's a sense of excitement across the decks about the arrival in London, a studied concentration prevails on the bridge.
As well as the hazardous Thames Estuary sandbanks, the 4,900-tonne ship has to fit through a gap just 13-metres wide at Canary Wharf in order to stay at a safe depth.
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Two commercial 'pilot' skippers join the officers on the bridge — one being familiar with the Estuary at Kent and the other the Thames.
Commanding Officer Wallington-Smith tells Metro: 'Sutherland is at a really important stage in her life where she's completed a really major life extension refit which has delivered the cutting edge sensors and weapons to the ship to enable her to deliver the tasking that we're given by the Navy in support of the nation over the next five or six years.
'Right now, we're in the stage of regenerating the ship so that we are more than capable and ready to deliver the tasks that are given to us.
'That means we need to do the equipment trials so the weapons and sensors are all ready to go but also we need to train the people, because nothing works without the people being trained and ready for action.
'That's a progressive thing that takes us through and that's the stage we are at now.'
The Sutherland refit is a sign of things to come as the Navy introduces two new frigates — the Type 26 City class and Type 31 Inspiration class.
The upgrade is taking place amid heightened political tensions between the UK and Russia and cat-and-mouse games playing out at sea between NATO countries and hostile vessels.
While the encounters demand the most sophisticated sensors and weaponry, they also represent the Cold War threat the Sutherland was originally designed for.
'In many ways the threats from the days of the Cold War are still there,' Cdr Wallington-Smith says.
'The capability of the adversary, in Russian underwater technology, is still very high, but in many ways it continues to evolve and challenge us.
'The Russians are at the forefront of the technology in some of the underwater challenges they pose to the nation.
'The 28 years this ship has been in service means that she's a really seasoned, experienced ASW [anti-submarine warfare] platform and we have a lot of understanding as to how to deliver this.
'The recent refit we have done has then added on the latest weapons and sensors.
'Many of the weapons and sensors are equipment we will take through into the new class of ships as we progress from the Type 23 class to the Type 26 and 31.'
The captain is back on the bridge as the Sutherland pulls up alongside HMS Belfast — the two ships representing a naval tradition spanning back to World War Two.
Sailors in camo fatigues armed with SA80 rifles and staying close to fixed General Purpose Machine Guns keep a careful watch on proceedings.
The relative quiet on the bridge is not down to lowered voices alone.
A 'silence kills' sign outside the command deck and the smooth running of the ship are reminders that the frigate was built for stealth in order to evade detection by submarines.
Although many of the crew are occupied with logistical tasks, there's a sense of relief when the Sutherland pulls up alongside its sister ship and drops the gangway.
'It's a hugely proud moment for the ship's company and for me personally,' Cdr Wallington-Smith says.
'I've had the privilege of commanding two Type 23s over the past two-and-a-half years or so and the Type 23 hasn't come this far into the capital for at least 10 years.
'We are going right into the heart of a city that is fundamental connected with the maritime domain, whether it's through the data cables that bring the information to allow 10 trillion dollars' worth of transactions to take place daily in the city, through the energy that flows in from windfarms and undersea gas cables, to the goods that come in through the London Gateway. To be able to come in and deliver this understanding is really exciting for the team.'
The Belfast's service includes D-Day, when it was among the first British ships to open fire on German shore defences.
'To be alongside Belfast, a ship with such an illustrious history, is really special,' the captain says.
'Ninety-nine years ago this year she was laid down and she represents the last generation, we represent the current generation.
'But it's really apposite that in the next generation, the Type 26, there will be another HMS Belfast as we progress the technology.'
As tourists on the Imperial War Museums ship pause to capture the unexpected arrival on their mobiles, Lt Cdr Page is among the officers savouring the moment out on deck.
'It's a fabulous day and a fabulous day in the history of HMS Sutherland and a proud moment for the whole of the ship's company after a brilliant regeneration,' she says.
'Having the two ships side by side shows the absolute relevance of the Navy in the present day and the strategic importance going forward, and the history we and the future we have in front of us, which is very promising and very bright.'
Lt Cdr Page is among the ship's crew who will be combining formal engagements and logistical tasks with getting out and about in the city over the next few days.
Second in Command Lt Cdr Thicknesse, who invited the Metro onto the bridge for the approach, describes the Sutherland as a 'floating embassy' for UK interests when it is berthed.
After departing London, the ship is due to spend another few days at Greenwich before heading back out to sea, with another port call in Rotterdam. More Trending
The frigates are used for a wide range of tasks also including anti-piracy, anti-drug operations and humanitarian responses and disaster relief, but the first deployment is slated to be the patrols maintaining security in and around the UK's territorial waters.
For now, the principal mission is a charm offensive that includes welcoming MPs onboard.
But in an increasingly uncertain world, the crew honing their skills on the Sutherland may yet find themselves as the first line of defence.
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