The proposed structure pairs Type 31 and Type 32 frigates in six mixed squadrons rather than treating the lighter ships as an undifferentiated pool. Overseas groups at Gibraltar, the Gulf, Singapore, and the Falklands would cover routes and regions where a continuous British maritime presence was judged valuable. Two home squadrons would focus respectively on the High North and on the North Sea and Baltic. Paired patrol vessels and mine-warfare support would turn those detachments into a modern version of the flotilla-presence systems Britain used before both world wars.
Notable Point · 1:31:01-1:33:35
A squadron map for persistent Royal Navy presence
The forward-presence concept is made concrete with mixed light-frigate squadrons assigned to Gibraltar, the Gulf, Singapore, the Falklands, Scotland, and the North Sea.