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British Navy Upgrades Frigate HMS Richmond with Networked Warfare Tech for Indo-Pacific deployment.
As it prepares to deploy with the UK Carrier Strike Group, the frigate HMS Richmond has become the first vessel of its class to receive a major upgrade to its tactical communications systems. Introduced just days before departure for the Indo-Pacific, this technological enhancement marks a significant step in the Royal Navy’s adaptation to an operational environment increasingly shaped by multi-domain threats and the need for constant connectivity between naval, air, and joint forces.
This capability is crucial in high-threat environments, as shown by HMS Richmond’s quick response to Houthi drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea in early 2024. (Picture source: UK MoD)
The Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, commissioned in 1995 and based at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth, has been fitted with the modernised Link 16 Crypto system—an updated version of the tactical data link network widely used across NATO. This upgrade enables secure, rapid, and reliable exchange of real-time tactical data with other units. Such capability has become critical in high-threat environments where engagements can unfold in seconds, as demonstrated during HMS Richmond’s encounter with Houthi drones and missiles in the Red Sea in early 2024. Within a task group, the vessel detecting a threat is not always best positioned to engage it, making the timely transmission of targeting data essential to coordinated defence.
HMS Richmond is a 133-metre-long, 4,900-tonne frigate designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare but capable of performing a broad range of missions. It carries a crew of 185 and is equipped with Sea Ceptor air defence missiles, Naval Strike Missiles with anti-ship and land-attack capabilities, a 114mm main gun, Sting Ray torpedoes, and either a Wildcat or Merlin helicopter.
Throughout its service, HMS Richmond has been involved in multiple operations, including the Iraq War in 2003, humanitarian missions in the Caribbean, maritime security patrols in the South Atlantic, deployments in the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific, and multinational exercises with NATO and regional partners. In January 2024, the ship intercepted two Houthi drones in the Red Sea, underscoring its ongoing role in maritime security operations.
Modernised between 2017 and 2019 under the LIFEX programme, the ship received new MTU diesel generators and the Sea Ceptor missile system. In March 2025, it was also fitted with Naval Strike Missiles. That same month, HMS Richmond became the first of its class to receive the modernised Link 16 and the Joint Range Extension Application Protocol (JREAP), a satellite-based system that extends tactical data transmission beyond line-of-sight. These capabilities significantly enhance Richmond’s ability to share situational awareness across the Carrier Strike Group, particularly during dispersed operations across the Indo-Pacific region.
The addition of JREAP enables the ship to transmit tactical data via satellite, overcoming the limitations of traditional radio-based communications during long-range operations. This ensures operational cohesion across great distances, a critical factor in maritime environments like the Indo-Pacific. Richmond now serves as a demonstrator for the UK’s Maritime Multi Link (MML) programme, which aims to modernise tactical communications across the surface fleet. The programme also includes upgrades to the NATO-standard Link 22 system, which uses HF and UHF radio and complements Link 16. Installing these systems on a 30-year-old platform required close coordination between the Royal Navy, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), industry partners BAE Systems and Relay, and the ship’s crew.
Incorporating these systems has strengthened Richmond’s interoperability within NATO and joint environments and aligns with the Royal Navy’s concept of distributed lethality. According to Commodore James Blackmore, commander of the Carrier Strike Group, this networked combat architecture will offer enhanced tactical awareness to the 2,000 personnel participating in the deployment, particularly in increasingly contested strategic areas.
This deployment forms part of the UK’s broader strategy to increase its presence and influence in the Indo-Pacific region, a zone of growing strategic importance marked by intensifying geopolitical competition, particularly between China and Western-aligned powers. The UK’s “Indo-Pacific tilt,” outlined in its Integrated Review, reflects a shift in focus toward protecting vital sea lanes, supporting the rules-based international order, and strengthening security partnerships with regional allies such as Japan, Australia, and India. By participating in multinational naval activities and demonstrating its ability to project force and cooperate across vast distances, the UK seeks to reaffirm its role as a global maritime power.
HMS Richmond’s participation in this deployment as part of the Carrier Strike Group is a concrete expression of that ambition. Operating alongside other Royal Navy ships and allied forces, the frigate contributes to joint exercises, patrols freedom of navigation, and regional deterrence missions. Its upgraded communication and data-sharing systems enhance the task group’s cohesion and responsiveness in this strategically vital but geographically dispersed theatre, reinforcing the UK’s commitment to stability and interoperability in the Indo-Pacific.