Sea Power

Sidharth Kaushal, sea power research fellow the Royal United Services Institute, said the Royal Navy’s surface fleet’s current state was “effectively one of temporary retrenchment, which may start to be alleviated by the delivery of the Type 26s”. He added: “The fleet is at a historic low in terms of surface escort ships and the Type 26 will be particularly critical to what the Royal Navy does in future. They are already looking at a reduced number, down to eight from the original 12 the Navy wanted, so I imagine giving one to an ally would be a difficult sell.”

The Yamal and the Azov were Ropucha-class vessels, playing an "important role" in Russian logistics, said Sidharth Kaushal, research fellow in sea power at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank in London.

In a potential conflict over Taiwan, they are seen as critical to containing the Chinese navy – partly as they could lie in wait at “choke points” along the string of islands between Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia, says Sidharth Kaushal, a sea power expert and research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London.