diff --git a/rockcraft/templates/simple/rockcraft.yaml.j2 b/rockcraft/templates/simple/rockcraft.yaml.j2
index ca9561d98..00722aae0 100644
--- a/rockcraft/templates/simple/rockcraft.yaml.j2
+++ b/rockcraft/templates/simple/rockcraft.yaml.j2
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 name: {{name}}
 # see {{versioned_url}}/explanation/bases/
 # for more information about bases and using 'bare' bases for chiselled rocks
-base: ubuntu@22.04 # the base environment for this rock
+base: ubuntu@24.04 # the base environment for this rock
 version: '0.1' # just for humans. Semantic versioning is recommended
 summary: Single-line elevator pitch for your amazing rock # 79 char long summary
 description: |
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_cli.py b/tests/unit/test_cli.py
index 3074775cd..9bccb5d7d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_cli.py
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ def test_run_init(mocker):
     assert len(rock_project.summary) < 80
     assert len(rock_project.description.split()) < 100
     assert mock_ended_ok.mock_calls == [call()]
+    assert rock_project.base == "ubuntu@24.04"
 
 
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("valid_dir")