In 1998 Richmond participated in two significant NATO naval exercises and arrived in New York where she was involved in the US Navy Fleet Week.

In 2002 she arrived in the Caribbean where she performed tasks including obligatory "fly-the-flag" duties to the Commonwealth countries in the region as well as undergoing trials.

When hostilities began, Richmond, HM ships Chatham, Marlborough and HMAS Anzac of the Royal Australian Navy provided Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) during the Royal Marines' amphibious assault of the Al Faw Peninsula, the first amphibious assault by the Marines since the Falklands War in 1982.

Richmond returned from her deployment in December 2004, and began a refit period at HM Naval Base Portsmouth in mid-2005.

This deployment involved high-profile defence engagement visits to five continents and resulted in the ship receiving Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands Commendation for Distinguished Service.

Of note, during her seven months away Richmond conducted visits to five British Dependent Overseas Territories including Ascension Island, St Helena, the Falklands, South Georgia and Tristan da Cunha.

[19] In October 2015 Richmond was deployed to the Mediterranean to aid the EU's fight against people smugglers due to refugees fleeing civil war in Syria.

[20] In October 2016 Richmond and the destroyer HMS Duncan were dispatched by the Ministry of Defence to intercept and "man-mark" a fleet of Russian Navy vessels, including their flagship Admiral Kuznetsov passing through the English Channel on their way to Syria.

The ship and her weaponry star in a sequence where James May and Jeremy Clarkson commandeer the 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun to destroy an armoured vehicle manufactured by Richard Hammond.

In November it was announced that on completion of the work in 2018 she will not return to Portsmouth and will switch base port to Plymouth in an effort to concentrate the Type 23s fitted with anti-submarine equipment in the city.

[27] In January 2024 Richmond was sent to the Red Sea to join destroyer HMS Diamond and sister-frigate HMS Lancaster in defending against attacks on commercial shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen,[28] and on 9 March 2024 the Secretary of State for Defence announced that Richmond had successfully intercepted two attack drones.