The House of Commons Library has published a comprehensive research briefing titled “UK Defence in 2025: Warships and the Surface Fleet“, providing a detailed overview of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels, as well as future plans for the UK’s surface fleet, according to the latest publication from the Library.
The briefing is part of a series examining UK armed forces capabilities, focusing on the composition and role of the Royal Navy and RFA’s surface fleet, including frigates, destroyers, and support ships.
It highlights the current number of vessels, procurement histories where relevant, and planned acquisitions, offering valuable insights ahead of the upcoming Strategic Defence Review (SDR).
The report emphasises that while an inventory of ships does not entirely reflect the UK’s military capabilities, the type and number of vessels do indicate the government’s strategic ambitions and the kinds of operations the armed forces can support.
It also acknowledges ongoing concerns among MPs regarding potential capability gaps and reductions in the fleet size.
The briefing looks at future ships, both those under construction, like the Type 26 + 31 frigates, and those proposed, incl the Type 32, Type 83 + multi-role strike ships.
The briefing also discusses the state of the RFA, and concerns about capability gaps in both fleets.
— Louisa BrookeHolland (@brookehollandl) May 12, 2025
The document outlines the current number of Royal Navy and RFA ships, noting changes since the last official count. It also covers the development of new vessel classes, including the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates, which are set to replace the ageing Type 23 fleet, and the future Type 83 destroyers. The mine-hunting fleet’s transition to autonomous systems is also discussed.
In addition to ship numbers, the briefing addresses broader strategic considerations, such as the government’s commitment to UK-based shipbuilding. This includes ongoing projects in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the aim of supporting national defence capabilities while sustaining the domestic shipbuilding sector.
The forthcoming SDR is expected to examine the future design and composition of the Royal Navy, including confirmation of vessels currently under construction and updates on future ship types that are in the concept phase.
The briefing also touches on the strategic functions of the Royal Navy and RFA, including protecting the UK’s Overseas Territories, supporting NATO operations, maintaining freedom of navigation, and contributing to humanitarian missions. For further information and to access the full briefing, visit the House of Commons Library website here.
I’m sure there are numerous functions currently manned that can be transferred to automated Ai craft, allowing for the big tasks to human operators.
Yes, like mine sweeping, then the arm chair admirals all come on and decry the lack of mine sweepers and tell us we are not a proper navy anymore.
It’s interesting that the least “proper” navy we ever had was the fleet of the late 70’s through the early 90’s but many seem to have an idilic view of that force and see it as something to aspire to.
Offcourse all the “experts” in the 80’s harkened back to the fleet of the 50’s as being the ideal, perhaps it’s more of an age thing for armchair admirals 🤔
Lazerpig has a very good video on this subject.
is anyone aware of why venturer isn’t in the water yet?
Slightly off topic: 1st Sea Lord’s Sea Power Conference should have started today. I don’t even know who the First Sea Lord is! Do we have a stand in? I just looked and the conference is postponed. Maybe we’ll get some clues in Farnborough’s Combined Naval Event next week.
Sea power conference from a UK admiral? really? maybe it was postponed because the reality is we have divulged ourselves of the majority of our fighting power right at a time of unprecedented threats and emboldening of our enemies. Maybe it was postponed because the royal navy is in such a piss poor state we couldn’t fight our way out of a cardboard box currently.
Or maybe, the 1st Sea Lord has had to fall on his sword.
Reading this document, shows a profound litany of shame and essentially profound incompetence across government in its most import role, to defence te nation.
What is very clear is that
1) the first type 31 is probably not going to be deployable until close to 2030. ( the plan was 2023 for T31 and 2020 for type 26)
2) When you look at the stark dates around the T23 you can see the simple truth ( what I have said a few times) these ships are not lasting 6 years beyond their lifex, and they are going beyond economic repair 5-6 years before the 2015s conservative governments desperate make believe on how long it could keep ships running add to the other set of desperate make believe around how quickly new classes could be built and commissioned the RN is essentially fucked because if every T23 follows the same trajectory then the last T23 will be decommissioned by 2030/31.
3) possibly the worst statement of government incompetence comes from the statement the the MOD will not discuss future frigate and destroyer numbers and plans with the defence committee due to national security… essentially an admission that it’s so bad that any small amount of information that should be public domain cannot be released as it would show such levels of weakness as to endanger national security. This backs up the fact that in truth the RN escort numbers are likely to collapse even further..
The reality is the late 2028-30 period may see the RN frigate fleet down to a pair of T23s and a t26 and type 31 both still working up..
This is truly a national shame as the frigate fleet should have always been 20 strong.. I can honestly just about forgive the Labour government for cutting it fine down to 17 frigates in Geostrategically benign conditions of the 00s ( I consider their dropping to 6 AAW destroyers to be criminal mind).. but the worst crime sits with Cameron.. 2010 was seeing a geopolitical movement to a multipolar world and first rise of a belligerent china and Russia, he chose to ignore that and essentially destroyed the RN frigate fleet in the late 2020s by his actions, just at the highest risk of a peer war since the 1960s..when the RN needed to be able to communicate capability as a deterrent.. when now all it can really communicate is weakness, by refusing to say what size frigate fleet it will have in the late 2020s… a sort of anti deterrent, even though the MOD says it’s protecting national security by refusing to say, infact its just helping destroy the deterrent effect of the RN, refusing to say does not help national security because the point of military capability is to be seen.
It’s pretty clear that all this was caused by a guy called Dave back in 2010. Naval strategy is build strategy and the ramifications of cuts take decades to manifest then fix.
Every other western navy is struggling with much the same issues.
But we do have an end in sight but it won’t be for another ten years.
Ive read the document from start to finish, makes for grim readings. Huge capability gaps opening up within the Royal Navy that are unheard of, divulging ourselves of our amphibious and littoral warfare assets- HMS Albion and Bulwark at a time of international threats not seen since the height of the cold war. No heavy weight anti ship missile being available with future cruise and strike missile Anglo-French programme still years away.
Sole point of failure with RFA Victoria being the only fleet solid support ship and only 4 tankers being available of the Tide class with the withdrawal from service formally of Wave knight and Wave Ruler that could have at least been reactivated if required during a period of conflict.
At leas the introduction of NSM with 11 sets ordered will help with the navy’s lethality as we are down to just 8 frigates and 6 destroyers (14 vessels) so youd think vessels entering long term refit would give up their sets of NSM to keep the active fleet armed- 11 sets in actually going to be enough such has the British fleet been allowed to shrink and wither.
RFA Proteus and Sterling Castle have not been added too and the whole MCM is being downgraded without replacement, the autonomous systems intended to replace them have not been ordered and arent in service and nor are the motherships to deploy them- supposedly there were to be a fleet of 5-6 motherships for autonomous mine warfare and defence of sub sea assets- of which only Proteus and Sterling Castle are in service and how effective they are proving remains an unknown to the general public.
SDSR has to pull all ship building programmes to the left- meaning speed them up. Also need to see movement on both the type 31 and type 26 programmes to deliver more vessels out of these programmes built at pace, before construction then switches to type 83 and possibly type 32 frigate programmes- which in terms of the type 32 programme was announced under BoJo’s government and yet strangely is still in “concept phase” meaning it is pie in the sky and therefore we should just get more type 26 and type 31 frigates as these are tangible proven designs.
Adding type 41 VLS silos to the type 31 frigate programme is now reportedly going to be undertaken during a mid-life refit. So they are essentially going to be returning to the Fitted For But Not With fiasco I thought we had consigned to history books.
SDSR better bloody well get a grip on these matters otherwise it will be a complete fudge and load of tosh. Our NATO allies will see through the hot wind and fudged tosh management terminology that is so beloved of our civil service and government and we as a nation will singularly fail to deter aggression from states that wish us harm and to destroy the UK as a democratic and sovereign free nation.
Argentina will be emboldened to look at the Falklands again, China will continue its expansive military growth and continue pressurising its neighbours with territorial demands, Russia will continue to threaten the UK directly and continue to send submarine right up to the UK’s very shoreline without fear as they know we have disarmed ourselves at a time the rest of the world including our enemies is rearming.
Much rests on SDSR, without tangible serious determination to end the rot that set in under the Tories then we as a nation are heading for big big trouble. Is it any wonder why less than 50% of the fighting aged adults in the UK reportedly are willing to fight for this nation?
Those darn recruitment and retention issues mean we can’t build more ships! Darn it!
I know that some inshore patrol and survey vessels may be commissioned, but they are boats, not ships. HMS Bangor is less likely to go to war than HMS Victory. At least Victory can be used for propoganda. Ft Victoria is unlikely ever to sale and Cardigan Bay’s future hangs by a thread. The reality is that in terms of ships over 100 tons, the surface fleet (RN and RFA) consists of 10 patrol and survey ships, 8 frigates, 6 destroyers, 2 carriers and 10 support ships (excluding Ft Victoria).
That’s 36 ships of which 13 will be gone in the next 5 years, even assuming we can hold on to 4 T23s into the next decade and that’s being highly optimistic. We can hope for at most five new frigates to offset this. If we thought the loss of ships in the first half of this decade was a disgrace, I find myself in trouble thinking of words for what will happen over the decade as a whole. Infamous perhaps.
When I said Ft Victoria won’t sale, it was a Freudian Slip. It’s far more likely to sale than sail under a blue ensign again.