The mine-countermeasure capability gap

Do the U.S. and Royal navies regret retiring specialist mine-countermeasure ships before their successors were ready?

The panel discusses a gap between specialist-ship retirements and the delivery of replacement systems, using the British mothership plans as its main example.

The question compares the retirement of U.S. Avenger ships with British Hunt and Sandown mine-countermeasure vessels. British transfers to Ukraine are discussed alongside plans for motherships carrying offboard systems. In the episode's account, replacement hulls had not yet been ordered or laid down, despite discussion of Norwegian cooperation. The panel's criticism concerns the interval between retiring an existing capability and securing its replacement.