"Achilles" was intended to be modernised, (probably involving removal of her one 4.5-inch twin gun, which would have been replaced by the Exocet anti-ship missile and Sea Wolf anti-aircraft missiles, but possibly also involving fitting of a towed array sonar), but the modernisation was cancelled due to the 1981 Defence Review by the minister, John Nott, and it was instead planned to dispose of the unmodernised frigate, despite the long life remaining in her hull. In 1982, "Achilles" deployed to the West Indies as guardship. The following year, she deployed to the Falkland Islands to patrol the area in the aftermath of the Falklands War. Later that year "Achilles" took part in Exercise Orient Express, which took place in the Indian Ocean. She deployed to the Persian Gulf that same year.