She is one of the United Kingdom's two landing platform docks designed to put Royal Marines ashore by air and by sea though is due to be retired by March 2025.

[13] In October 2008, Bulwark was at the Tail of the Bank in the Firth of Clyde together with the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the French amphibious ship Tonnerre, taking part in Exercise Joint Warrior 2008.

[14] On 18 February 2009, Bulwark sailed from Devonport as flagship to Commander UK Amphibious Task Group, Commodore Peter Hudson, on the Taurus 09 deployment.

She was joined by Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) Ocean, Type 23 frigates Argyll and Somerset and four ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

[19] Bulwark undertook Operational Sea Training at the end of June 2011 in preparation to take up the role of fleet flagship of the Royal Navy.

In October she participated in Exercise Joint Warrior in Loch Eriboll, the largest war games staged in the UK, involving the French Marines and other NATO forces.

[21] On 15 February 2012, Bulwark made an unscheduled stop in Kiel, Germany, after ice on the Elbe river prevented her from entering the city of Hamburg as originally planned.

[23] In April, she also took part in Exercise 'Joint Warrior' with several other British and foreign vessels including the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious off the coast of Scotland.

In July, the ship came alongside Sunderland and exercised the Freedom of the City of Durham with a full ceremonial parade through the streets, finishing with a service at St Cuthbert's Cathedral.

As announced in 2011, Bulwark entered extended readiness (uncrewed reserve) in early 2017, and transferred her role as Fleet Amphibious Flagship to her sister ship Albion on her emergence from refit.

[35] However, in October 2017, the BBC's Newsnight reported that the Ministry of Defence was considering decommissioning Bulwark and Albion as part of a package of cost-cutting measures intended to mitigate the expense of the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers.

[44] Bulwark was heavily featured in Episode 2 of the 2017 series of Warship on Channel 4, which although based in HMS Ocean, followed the entire Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) 16 deployment.