Keeping modern escorts in ordinary reserve

Should recently replaced frigates and destroyers be placed in ordinary rather than discarded?

Yes for suitable hulls, provided the navy builds reservists and mobilisation arrangements around their retention.

A hull survey could identify recently replaced frigates and destroyers worth preserving for a few years. Reserve ships are not wasted merely because they are inactive; their value depends on maintaining crews, plans, and a force structure capable of activating them when required. Royal Navy hulls are worked hard, so preservation should follow an honest material assessment rather than an automatic rule. The exchange also places the idea far down the government's agenda, showing that political acceptance constrains reserve depth as much as hull condition. Ships held in ordinary provide insurance and surge capacity even when peacetime headlines portray every inactive asset as wasted money.