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 2024, there are 62 commissioned and active ships in the Royal Navy.

Of the commissioned vessels, sixteen are major surface combatants (two aircraft carriers, six guided missile destroyers and eight frigates) and nine are nuclear-powered submarines (four ballistic missile submarines and five fleet submarines). In addition the Navy possesses seven 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 393,000 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.^[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] As of 2025, other autonomous vessels, also for minehunting, are being procured from Thales Group.^[7]

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.^[8][9]

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.^[10] A general-purpose frigate and vessels belonging to the navy's 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron are forward-deployed there. 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.^[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.

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[N 1]	3,556 tonnes	First-rate ship of the line	Portsmouth	[12]

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	[13]
	HMS Victorious	S29	1995				[14]
	HMS Vigilant	S30	1996				[15]
	HMS Vengeance	S31	1999				[16]
Fleet
Class	Boat	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Astute class	HMS Astute	S119	2010	7,400 tonnes	Fleet submarine	Clyde	[17]
	HMS Ambush	S120	2013				[18]
	HMS Artful	S121	2016				[19]
	HMS Audacious	S122	2021				[20][21]
	HMS Anson	S123	2022				[22]

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	[23][24]
	HMS Prince of Wales	R09	2019				[25][N 2]
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	[26][27]
	HMS Dauntless	D33	2010				[28]
	HMS Diamond	D34	2011				[29]
	HMS Dragon	D35	2012				[30]
	HMS Defender	D36	2013				[31]
	HMS Duncan	D37	2013				[32]
Frigates
Class	Ship	No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Type 23 / Duke class	HMS Lancaster	F229	1992	4,900 tonnes	Guided-missile frigate	Portsmouth	[33][N 3]
	HMS Iron Duke	F234	1993			Devonport	[34]
	HMS Richmond	F239	1995				[35]
	HMS Somerset	F82	1996				[36]
	HMS Sutherland	F81	1997				[37]
	HMS Kent	F78	2000				[38][39]
	HMS Portland	F79	2001				[40]
	HMS St Albans	F83	2002				[41]
Offshore patrol
Class	Ship	No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
River class	HMS Tyne	P281	2003	1,700 tonnes	Offshore patrol vessel	Portsmouth	[42]
	HMS Severn	P282	2003 and 2021				[43]
	HMS Mersey	P283	2003				[44]
	HMS Forth	P222	2018	2,000 tonnes			[45][N 4]
	HMS Medway	P223	2019				[46][N 5]
	HMS Trent	P224	2020				[47][N 6]
	HMS Tamar	P233	2020				[48][N 7]
	HMS Spey	P234	2021				[50][N 8]
Mine countermeasures
Class	Ship	No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Hunt class	HMS Ledbury	M30	1981	750 tonnes	Minehunter	Portsmouth	[51]
	HMS Cattistock	M31	1982				[52]
	HMS Brocklesby	M33	1983				[53]
	HMS Middleton	M34	1984				[54][N 9]
	HMS Chiddingfold	M37	1984				[55]
	HMS Hurworth	M39	1985				[56]
Sandown class	HMS Bangor	M109	2000	600 tonnes		Clyde	[57][N 10]
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	[58]
	HMS Biter	P270	1986			Liverpool	[59]
	HMS Smiter	P272	1988			Portsmouth	[60]
	HMS Pursuer	P273	1988			Glasgow	[61]
	HMS Blazer	P279	1988			Portsmouth	[62]
	HMS Dasher	P280	1988			Portsmouth	[63]
	HMS Puncher	P291	1988			Portsmouth	[64]
	HMS Charger	P292	1988			Liverpool	[65]
	HMS Ranger	P293	1988			Portsmouth	[66]
	HMS Trumpeter	P294	1988			Ipswich	[67]
	HMS Express	P163	1988			Cardiff	[68]
	HMS Example	P165	1985			Gateshead	[69]
	HMS Explorer	P164	1986			Hull	[70]
	HMS Exploit	P167	1988			Portsmouth	[71]
	HMS Tracker	P274	1998		Patrol boat	Clyde	[72][N 11]
	HMS Raider	P275	1998				[73][N 12]
Cutlass class	HMS Cutlass	P295	2022	35 tonnes		Gibraltar	[74][N 13]
	HMS Dagger	P296					[75][76][N 14]

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	[77]
—	HMS Protector	A173	2011	5,000 tonnes	Icebreaker & survey		[78][N 15]
Sea class 18 m variant	HMS Magpie	H130	2018	37 tonnes	Survey motor launch		[80]
Non-commissioned vessels
Class	Ship	No.	In service	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
—	XV Patrick Blackett	X01	2022	270 tonnes	Experimental vessel	Portsmouth	[81]
—	Madfox	N/A	2021	c. 10 tonnes	Autonomous surface vessel	Portsmouth	[5][82]
Hunt class	Brecon	M29	1979	750 tonnes	Static Training Ship	HMS Raleigh	[83]
Sandown class	Hindostan (ex-Cromer)	M103	1992	600 tonnes		Britannia Royal Naval College	[84]
Sea class	34 vessels:[85] * 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	—	[N 16][86][1][87]
ALN-139 class	Sea Harrier Buccaneer Sea Vixen Swordfish	—	2017	c. 15 - 20 tonnes		—	[N 17][88]
Arcims class	RNMB Hussar	—	2021 to 2023	< 10 tonnes (five units); c.10+ tonnes (Hebe)[89][90]	Autonomous minehunting	Clyde	[91][92][93][94]
	RNMB Hazard
	RNMB Hebe
	RNMB Halcyon
	RNMB Harrier
	RNMB Hydra
Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs)	RNMB Apollo	N/A	2021	< 10 tonnes[90]		N/A	[N 18][95][96][97][98]
	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
• 
  Excellent

Silhouettes

Silhouettes of major fleet units:

• 
  Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier - (R08) & (R09)
• 
  Type 45 or Daring-class destroyer - (D32), (D33), (D34), (D35), (D36) & (D37)
• 
  Type 23 or Duke-class frigate - (F229), (F234), (F239), (F82), (F81), (F78), (F79) & (F83)
• 
  Vanguard-class submarine - (S28), (S29), (S30) & (S31)
• 
  Astute-class submarine - (S119), (S120), (S121), (S122) & (S123)

Silhouettes of all Royal Navy and RFA units:

See also

• United Kingdom portal

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

1. Launched in 1765 and commissioned in 1778, making Victory the world's oldest warship still in commission.
2. Prince of Wales is the current Fleet Flagship as of late 2024.
3. HMS Lancaster is forward deployed, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
4. HMS Forth is forward deployed, operating from Mare Harbour as guardship in the Falkland Islands.
5. HMS Medway is forward deployed as Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North) guardship in the Caribbean.
6. HMS Trent is forward deployed to Gibraltar for regional operations in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Guinea.
7. HMS Tamar is forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region with her primary logistics hub at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Singapore^[49]
8. HMS Spey is forward deployed to the Indo-Pacific region with her primary logistics hub at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit in Singapore^[49]
9. HMS Middleton is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
10. HMS Bangor is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
11. Forms part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron providing security to nuclear submarines entering and leaving the waters in and around HMNB Clyde.
12. Forms part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron providing security to nuclear submarines entering and leaving the waters in and around HMNB Clyde.
13. Permanently based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Forms part of the Gibraltar Squadron.
14. Permanently based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Forms part of the Gibraltar Squadron.
15. 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".^[79]
16. 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.
17. Three assigned as passenger transfer vessels to HMS Queen Elizabeth
18. 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