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 May 2024, there are 66 commissioned ships in the Royal Navy.
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 frigatesHMS 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.[1][2][3] This class of vessel also incorporates an autonomous minehunting variant (known as the Arcims-class),[4] while another autonomous vessel, Madfox, is employed in varied roles including as a testbed for autonomous combat operations.[5]Madfox and other experimental vessels, including XV Patrick Blackett and APAC-24 (a crewless Pacific 24 rigid-hulled inflatable boat), are operated by NavyX, a unit of the Royal Navy dedicated to developing, testing and accelerating the use of new high technologies.[6]
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 79 vessels with a total displacement in excess of 752,400 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.[7][8]
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.
34 vessels:[91] * 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
^HMS Middleton is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
^HMS Chiddingfold is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
^HMS Bangor is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
^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".[85]
^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
^Pre-production units within joint UK-France MCM programme