List of active Royal Navy ships

List of active Royal Navy ships

The Royal Navy is the principal naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Its assets include both commissioned warships and non-commissioned vessels. As of December 2025, there are 63 commissioned ships, including auxiliary ships, in the Royal Navy. However, increasingly many of the Royal Navy's ships are old and some have proven to be minimmally seaworthy. The situation has been described in the media and by some politicians as a national embarrassment. According to the Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, the Royal Navy has effectively run out of ships.

Of the commissioned vessels, fifteen are major surface combatants (two aircraft carriers, six guided missile destroyers and seven frigates) and ten are nuclear-powered submarines (four ballistic missile submarines and six fleet submarines). In addition the Navy possesses eight mine countermeasures vessels, twenty-six patrol vessels, two survey vessels, one icebreaker and one historic warship, Victory.

The total displacement of the Royal Navy's commissioned and active ships is approximately 401,600 tonnes.

The Royal Navy also includes a number of smaller non-commissioned assets. The naval training vessels Brecon and Hindostan can be found based at the Royal Navy stone frigates HMS Raleigh and the Britannia Royal Naval College, respectively. Non-commissioned Sea-class workboats, procured under Project Vahana, are operated by the Royal Navy in various support, survey and training roles, replacing previous P1000 Class Picket Boat vessels. This class of vessel also incorporates an autonomous minehunting variant (known as the Arcims-class), while another autonomous vessel, Madfox, is employed in varied roles including as a testbed for autonomous combat operations. Madfox and other experimental vessels, including XV Patrick Blackett and APAC-24 (a crewless Pacific 24 rigid-hulled inflatable boat), are operated by the Fleet Experimentation Squadron within the Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office. As of 2025, XV Excalibur, an Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV), was also operated by the Squadron while other autonomous surface vessels, for minehunting, were in service and in the process of procurement from Thales Group.

Besides the Royal Navy, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and the Royal Marines operate their own flotillas of vessels which complement the assets of the Royal Navy. These vessels are not included in this list or the above figures. Nevertheless, combined, the Royal Navy and RFA have 72 vessels with a total displacement of about 645,600 tonnes, with the principal landing craft of the Royal Marines having an additional combined displacement of about 2,200 tonnes.

As a supporting contingent of His Majesty's Naval Service, the civilian Marine Services operate nearly 100 auxiliary ships (including coastal logistics, tugs and research vessels) in support of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary operations.

In the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy operates three main bases where commissioned ships are based: HMNB Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde. A number of commissioned vessels, belonging to the University Royal Naval Units (URNU), are stationed at various other locations around the United Kingdom.

The Royal Navy's principal overseas base is HMS Jufair in Bahrain. However, as of early 2026 there were no crewed vessels permanently based there.

Two fast patrol boats normally form part of the Gibraltar Squadron and are permanently based there. Some River-class offshore patrol vessels are also forward-deployed: including in the Falkland Islands, in the Indo-Pacific region and, somewhat more intermittently, in the Caribbean or out of Gibraltar. Additionally, the United Kingdom maintains a Joint Logistics Support Base in Duqm, Oman.

All ships and submarines currently in commission with the Royal Navy were built in the United Kingdom, with the exceptions of icebreaker Protector which was built in Norway, the survey vessel Magpie which was substantially built in Ireland, and the specialist mine countermeasures vessel HMS Stirling Castle, a former vessel of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary originally built in Romania. All commissioned vessels of the Royal Navy bear the ship prefix "HMS", for His Majesty's Ship or His Majesty's Submarine.

Ceremonial/Historic ship

List of active Royal Navy ships

Classic first-rate
Class	Ship	No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Ship of the line	HMS Victory	—	1778	3,556 tonnes	First-rate ship of the line	Portsmouth

Submarine service

List of active Royal Navy ships

Strategic
Class	Boat	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Vanguard class	HMS Vanguard	S28	1993	15,900 tonnes	Ballistic missile submarine	Clyde
HMS Victorious	S29	1995
HMS Vigilant	S30	1996
HMS Vengeance	S31	1999
Fleet
Class	Boat	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Astute class	HMS Astute	S119	2010	7,400 tonnes	Fleet submarine	Clyde
HMS Ambush	S120	2013
HMS Artful	S121	2016
HMS Audacious	S122	2021
HMS Anson	S123	2022
HMS Agamemnon	S124	2025

Surface fleet

List of active Royal Navy ships

<table><thead><tr><th>Aircraft carriers</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>Queen Elizabeth class</td><td>HMS Queen Elizabeth</td><td>R08</td><td>2017</td><td>80,600 tonnes</td><td>Aircraft carrier</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Prince of Wales</td><td>R09</td><td>2019</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Destroyers</td></tr><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>Type 45 / Daring class</td><td>HMS Daring</td><td>D32</td><td>2009</td><td>8,500 tonnes</td><td>Anti-air guided-missile destroyer</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Dauntless</td><td>D33</td><td>2010</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Diamond</td><td>D34</td><td>2011</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Dragon</td><td>D35</td><td>2012</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Defender</td><td>D36</td><td>2013</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Duncan</td><td>D37</td><td>2013</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Frigates</td></tr><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>Type 23 / Duke class</td><td>HMS Iron Duke</td><td>F234</td><td>1993</td><td>4,900 tonnes</td><td>Frigate</td><td>Devonport</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Richmond</td><td>F239</td><td>1995</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Somerset</td><td>F82</td><td>1996</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Sutherland</td><td>F81</td><td>1997</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Kent</td><td>F78</td><td>2000</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Portland</td><td>F79</td><td>2001</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS St Albans</td><td>F83</td><td>2002</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Offshore patrol</td></tr><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>River class</td><td>HMS Tyne</td><td>P281</td><td>2003</td><td>1,700 tonnes</td><td>Offshore patrol vessel</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Severn</td><td>P282</td><td>2003 and 2021</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Mersey</td><td>P283</td><td>2003</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Forth</td><td>P222</td><td>2018</td><td>2,000 tonnes</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Medway</td><td>P223</td><td>2019</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Trent</td><td>P224</td><td>2020</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Tamar</td><td>P233</td><td>2020</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Spey</td><td>P234</td><td>2021</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Mine countermeasures</td></tr><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>Hunt class</td><td>HMS Ledbury</td><td>M30</td><td>1981</td><td>750 tonnes</td><td>Minehunter</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Cattistock</td><td>M31</td><td>1982</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Brocklesby</td><td>M33</td><td>1983</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Middleton</td><td>M34</td><td>1984</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Chiddingfold</td><td>M37</td><td>1984</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Hurworth</td><td>M39</td><td>1985</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sandown class</td><td>HMS Bangor</td><td>M109</td><td>2000</td><td>600 tonnes</td><td>Clyde</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>HMS Stirling Castle</td><td>M01</td><td>2025</td><td>6,000 tonnes</td><td>Specialist mine hunting ship</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Coastal & fast patrol</td></tr><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>Archer class</td><td>HMS Archer</td><td>P264</td><td>1985</td><td>54 tonnes</td><td>Patrol boat, University Royal Naval Units</td><td>Edinburgh</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Biter</td><td>P270</td><td>1986</td><td>Liverpool</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Smiter</td><td>P272</td><td>1988</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Pursuer</td><td>P273</td><td>1988</td><td>Glasgow</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Blazer</td><td>P279</td><td>1988</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Dasher</td><td>P280</td><td>1988</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Puncher</td><td>P291</td><td>1988</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Charger</td><td>P292</td><td>1988</td><td>Liverpool</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Ranger</td><td>P293</td><td>1988</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Trumpeter</td><td>P294</td><td>1988</td><td>Ipswich</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Express</td><td>P163</td><td>1988</td><td>Cardiff</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Example</td><td>P165</td><td>1985</td><td>Gateshead</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Explorer</td><td>P164</td><td>1986</td><td>Hull</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Exploit</td><td>P167</td><td>1988</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Tracker</td><td>P274</td><td>1998</td><td>Patrol boat</td><td>Clyde</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Raider</td><td>P275</td><td>1998</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cutlass class</td><td>HMS Cutlass</td><td>P295</td><td>2022</td><td>35 tonnes</td><td>Gibraltar</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HMS Dagger</td><td>P296</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Auxiliary vessels

List of active Royal Navy ships

See also: Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and vessels operated by Serco Marine Services

<table><thead><tr><th>Survey</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>Commissioned</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>—</td><td>HMS Scott</td><td>H131</td><td>1997</td><td>13,500 tonnes</td><td>Ocean survey</td><td>Devonport</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>—</td><td>HMS Protector</td><td>A173</td><td>2011</td><td>5,000 tonnes</td><td>Icebreaker & survey</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sea class 18 m variant</td><td>HMS Magpie</td><td>H130</td><td>2018</td><td>37 tonnes</td><td>Survey motor launch</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Non-commissioned vessels</td></tr><tr><td>Class</td><td>Ship</td><td>No.</td><td>In service</td><td>Displacement</td><td>Type</td><td>Homeport</td><td>Note</td></tr><tr><td>—</td><td>XV Excalibur</td><td>N/A</td><td>2025</td><td>19 tonnes</td><td>Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV)</td><td>Devonport</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>—</td><td>XV Patrick Blackett</td><td>X01</td><td>2022</td><td>270 tonnes</td><td>Experimental vessel</td><td>Portsmouth]]</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>—</td><td>Madfox</td><td>N/A</td><td>2021</td><td>c. 10 tonnes</td><td>Autonomous surface vessel</td><td>Portsmouth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hunt class</td><td>Brecon</td><td>M29</td><td>1979</td><td>750 tonnes</td><td>Static Training Ship</td><td>HMS Raleigh</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sandown class</td><td>Hindostan (ex-Cromer)</td><td>M103</td><td>1992</td><td>600 tonnes</td><td>Britannia Royal Naval College</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sea class</td><td>34 vessels: 8 x 15 m Officer Training Units; 6 x 15 m Diver Training/Support Boats; 4 x 15 m Survey/hydrographic Modules; 3 x 13.8 m Passenger Transfer Boats (PTBs); 10 x 11 m Standard Workboats; 3 x 11 m Small Survey Modules</td><td>—</td><td>2018 to 2024</td><td>15 to 23 tonnes</td><td>Workboats</td><td>—</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>ALN-139 class</td><td>Sea Harrier Buccaneer Sea Vixen Swordfish</td><td>—</td><td>2017</td><td>c. 15 - 20 tonnes</td><td>—</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Arcims class</td><td>RNMB Hussar</td><td>—</td><td>2021 to 2023</td><td>< 10 tonnes (six units); c.10+ tonnes (Hebe)</td><td>Autonomous minehunting/sweeping</td><td>Clyde</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Hazard</td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Hellcat</td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Halcyon</td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Harrier</td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Hydra</td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Hebe</td></tr><tr><td>Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs)</td><td>RNMB Apollo (pre-production unit)</td><td>N/A</td><td>2021</td><td>< 10 tonnes</td><td>N/A</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Abdiel (pre-production unit)</td><td>2022</td></tr><tr><td>RNMB Ariadne (1st production USV)</td><td>2025/26</td></tr><tr><td>2nd production USV</td></tr><tr><td>3rd production USV</td></tr><tr><td>4th production USV</td></tr></tbody></table>

Gallery

List of active Royal Navy ships

• HMS Victory, Flagship of the First Sea Lord • Vanguard (Vanguard class) • Ambush (Astute class) • Queen Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth class) • Daring (Type 45 destroyer) • St. Albans (Type 23 frigate) • Forth (River class) • Hurworth (Hunt class) • Ramsey (Sandown class) • Raider (Archer class) • Cutlass (Cutlass class) • Scott • Protector • Magpie (Sea class) • XV Patrick Blackett • RNMB Harrier (Arcims class) • Madfox • Stirling Castle

Silhouettes

List of active Royal Navy ships

• Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier • Type 45 (Daring)-class destroyer • Type 23 (Duke)-class frigate • Vanguard-class submarine • Astute-class submarine