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 mid-2025, there are 63 commissioned and active 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 the Fleet Experimentation Squadron within the Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office.[6][7][8] As of 2025, XV Excalibur, an Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV), was also operated by the Squadron[6] while other autonomous surface vessels, for minehunting, were in service and in the process of procurement from Thales Group.[9]
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 671,000 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.[10][11]
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:[89] * 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 Bangor is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
^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".[82]
^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
^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