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 and active ships in the Royal Navy.
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 73 vessels with a total displacement of about 673,600 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. Until 2025/26, a general-purpose frigate and vessels belonging to the navy's 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron were forward-deployed there. However, HMS Lancaster was retired in Bahrain in December 2025, while the last remaining minehunter deployed there is planned for withdrawal in early 2026. This will leave the Royal Navy with no forward presence in the Persian Gulf, at least until (and if) alternative taskings can be arranged. Two fast patrol boats, together with a forward-deployed River-class offshore patrol vessel, normally form part of the Gibraltar Squadron and are permanently based there. Four other River-class vessels are also forward-deployed: one in the Falkland Islands, one in the Caribbean and two in the Indo-Pacific region. 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 and survey vessel Magpie which was substantially built in Ireland. 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
| Flagship of the First Sea Lord | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| Submarine service | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic | |||||||
| Class | Boat | 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
| Surface fleet | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft carriers | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| Queen Elizabeth class | HMS Queen Elizabeth | R08 | 2017 | 80,600 tonnes | Aircraft carrier | Portsmouth | |
| HMS Prince of Wales | R09 | 2019 | |||||
| Destroyers | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| Type 45 / Daring class | HMS Daring | D32 | 2009 | 8,500 tonnes | Anti-air guided-missile destroyer | Portsmouth | |
| HMS Dauntless | D33 | 2010 | |||||
| HMS Diamond | D34 | 2011 | |||||
| HMS Dragon | D35 | 2012 | |||||
| HMS Defender | D36 | 2013 | |||||
| HMS Duncan | D37 | 2013 | |||||
| Frigates | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| Type 23 / Duke class | HMS Iron Duke | F234 | 1993 | 4,900 tonnes | Frigate | Devonport | |
| HMS Richmond | F239 | 1995 | |||||
| HMS Somerset | F82 | 1996 | |||||
| HMS Sutherland | F81 | 1997 | |||||
| HMS Kent | F78 | 2000 | |||||
| HMS Portland | F79 | 2001 | |||||
| HMS St Albans | F83 | 2002 | |||||
| Offshore patrol | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| River class | HMS Tyne | P281 | 2003 | 1,700 tonnes | Offshore patrol vessel | Portsmouth | |
| HMS Severn | P282 | 2003 and 2021 | |||||
| HMS Mersey | P283 | 2003 | |||||
| HMS Forth | P222 | 2018 | 2,000 tonnes | ||||
| HMS Medway | P223 | 2019 | |||||
| HMS Trent | P224 | 2020 | |||||
| HMS Tamar | P233 | 2020 | |||||
| HMS Spey | P234 | 2021 | |||||
| Mine countermeasures | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| Hunt class | HMS Ledbury | M30 | 1981 | 750 tonnes | Minehunter | Portsmouth | |
| HMS Cattistock | M31 | 1982 | |||||
| HMS Brocklesby | M33 | 1983 | |||||
| HMS Middleton | M34 | 1984 | |||||
| HMS Chiddingfold | M37 | 1984 | |||||
| HMS Hurworth | M39 | 1985 | |||||
| Sandown class | HMS Bangor | M109 | 2000 | 600 tonnes | Clyde | ||
| - | HMS Stirling Castle | M01 | 2025 | 6,000 tonnes | Specialist mine hunting ship | Portsmouth | |
| Coastal & fast patrol | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| Archer class | HMS Archer | P264 | 1985 | 54 tonnes | Patrol boat, University Royal Naval Units | Edinburgh | |
| HMS Biter | P270 | 1986 | Liverpool | ||||
| HMS Smiter | P272 | 1988 | Portsmouth | ||||
| HMS Pursuer | P273 | 1988 | Glasgow | ||||
| HMS Blazer | P279 | 1988 | Portsmouth | ||||
| HMS Dasher | P280 | 1988 | Portsmouth | ||||
| HMS Puncher | P291 | 1988 | Portsmouth | ||||
| HMS Charger | P292 | 1988 | Liverpool | ||||
| HMS Ranger | P293 | 1988 | Portsmouth | ||||
| HMS Trumpeter | P294 | 1988 | Ipswich | ||||
| HMS Express | P163 | 1988 | Cardiff | ||||
| HMS Example | P165 | 1985 | Gateshead | ||||
| HMS Explorer | P164 | 1986 | Hull | ||||
| HMS Exploit | P167 | 1988 | Portsmouth | ||||
| HMS Tracker | P274 | 1998 | Patrol boat | Clyde | |||
| HMS Raider | P275 | 1998 | |||||
| Cutlass class | HMS Cutlass | P295 | 2022 | 35 tonnes | Gibraltar | ||
| HMS Dagger | P296 | ||||||
Auxiliary vessels
See also: Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and vessels operated by Serco Marine Services
| RN auxiliary ships | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| — | HMS Scott | H131 | 1997 | 13,500 tonnes | Ocean survey | Devonport | |
| — | HMS Protector | A173 | 2011 | 5,000 tonnes | Icebreaker & survey | ||
| Sea class 18 m variant | HMS Magpie | H130 | 2018 | 37 tonnes | Survey motor launch | ||
| Non-commissioned vessels | |||||||
| Class | Ship | No. | In service | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
| — | XV Excalibur | N/A | 2025 | 19 tonnes | Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV) | Devonport | |
| — | XV Patrick Blackett | X01 | 2022 | 270 tonnes | Experimental vessel | Portsmouth | |
| — | Madfox | N/A | 2021 | c. 10 tonnes | Autonomous surface vessel | Portsmouth | |
| Hunt class | Brecon | M29 | 1979 | 750 tonnes | Static Training Ship | HMS Raleigh | |
| Sandown class | Hindostan (ex-Cromer) | M103 | 1992 | 600 tonnes | Britannia Royal Naval College | ||
| Sea class | 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 | — | 2018 to 2024 | 15 to 23 tonnes | Workboats | — | |
| ALN-139 class | Sea Harrier Buccaneer Sea Vixen Swordfish | — | 2017 | c. 15 - 20 tonnes | — | ||
| Arcims class | RNMB Hussar | — | 2021 to 2023 | < 10 tonnes (six units); c.10+ tonnes (Hebe) | Autonomous minehunting/sweeping | Clyde | |
| RNMB Hazard | |||||||
| RNMB Hellcat | |||||||
| RNMB Halcyon | |||||||
| RNMB Harrier | |||||||
| RNMB Hydra | |||||||
| RNMB Hebe | |||||||
| Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) | RNMB Apollo | N/A | 2021 | < 10 tonnes | N/A | ||
| RNMB Abdiel | 2022 | ||||||
| RNMB Ariadne | 2025 | ||||||
Gallery
- 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
Silhouettes of major fleet units:
Silhouettes of all Royal Navy and RFA units:
See also
- Lists of ships operated by or in support of His Majesty's Naval Service
- List of active Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships
- List of active Royal Marines military watercraft
- List of ships of Serco Marine Services
- Related articles
- List of Royal Navy shore establishments (the "stone frigates")
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy
- Active Royal Navy weapon systems
- Future of the Royal Navy
- Standing Royal Navy deployments
Footnotes
- Launched in 1765 and commissioned in 1778, making Victory the world's oldest warship still in commission.
- Pre-sea trial testing as of September 2025; may not be fully operational until 2026-27.
- Prince of Wales is the current Fleet Flagship as of late 2024.
- HMS Forth is forward deployed, operating from Mare Harbour as guardship in the Falkland Islands.
- HMS Medway is forward deployed as Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North) guardship in the Caribbean.
- HMS Trent is forward deployed to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean, Gulf of Guinea and Caribbean.
- HMS Tamar is forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region with her primary logistics hub at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Singapore
- HMS Spey is forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region with her primary logistics hub at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Singapore
- HMS Middleton is forward deployed and is the only remaining vessel assigned to 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
- As of 2025 HMS Chiddingfold reported in "extended readiness" (uncrewed reserve); used as a source for spare parts for other Hunt-class vessels
- Former vessel of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary serving as mothership for Royal Navy autonomous minehunting/sweeping systems.
- Forms part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron providing security to nuclear submarines entering and leaving the waters in and around HMNB Clyde.
- Forms part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron providing security to nuclear submarines entering and leaving the waters in and around HMNB Clyde.
- Permanently based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Forms part of the Gibraltar Squadron.
- Permanently based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Forms part of the Gibraltar Squadron.
- Deployed in Antarctic waters during the regional summer. Official role to: "patrol and survey in the Antarctic and South Atlantic, maintaining UK sovereign presence with wider regional engagement".
- Officer training units assigned to Britannia Royal Naval College; Diver support boats at HMNB Portsmouth (three units), Devonport, Clyde and Gibraltar (one unit each); Passenger Transfer units to HMS Prince of Wales; and two or more small survey modules to HMS Protector and HMS Scott.
- Three assigned as passenger transfer vessels to HMS Queen Elizabeth
- Four vessels (Halcyon, Hussar, Hydra and Harrier) enabled for autonomous/uncrewed operations. Hebe's greater size enables her to accommodate a Portable Operations Centre Afloat; other vessels employed as crewed workboats.
- Apollo and Abdiel are pre-production units within joint UK-France MCM programme; Ariadne first production USV within a complete Maritime Mine Counter Measures (MMCM) system also consisting of Portable Operation Centre (POC), Synthetic Aperture & Mine Detection Imaging Sonar and Multi-Shot Mine Neutralisation System; three additional USVs to be delivered in 2025 within larger MMCM systems
wikipedia, wiki, encyclopedia, book, library, article, read, free download, Information about List of active Royal Navy ships, What is List of active Royal Navy ships? What does List of active Royal Navy ships mean?