Future of the Royal Navy

[1] In November 2024, the government announced the first results of that review which involved the retirement of the Navy's Albion-class assault ships, one frigate as well as two Wave-class replenishment vessels from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by March 2025.

[33] Nevertheless, the at sea availability of ships (both destroyers and frigates) within this smaller force was projected as likely increasing as vessels completed their life extension refits.

In 2021 in a written answer provided to the House of Commons Select Defence Committee, the First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, suggested that older Type 23 frigates would be retained in service longer than anticipated in order to ensure that escort numbers did not fall below 17 ships (6 destroyers and 11 frigates) and start to rise back above 19 escorts starting in the latter 2020s.

[42] No further details were included but the announcement was made in the context of restoring the United Kingdom as "the foremost naval power in Europe" and to "spur a shipbuilding renaissance".

[42] Later, the 2021 white paper indicated that the Type 32 was to be "designed to protect territorial waters, provide persistent presence overseas and support our Littoral Response Groups".

[49] At DESI 2017, the First Sea Lord mentioned that the Royal Navy aimed to accelerate the incremental delivery of future mine countermeasures and hydrographic capability (MHC) programme.

[50] All of these plans notwithstanding, in 2020 the parliamentary National Audit Office (NAO) noted that no funding had been allocated in the 2019 to 2029 period to replace the Navy's mine countermeasures capability.

[55] Further components in the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Program include the U.K.-French MCM program, which is to deliver four sets of systems (each of which includes: a Portable Operation Center (POC), Two Thales / L3Harris 12-metre Unmanned Surface Vessels - USVs -, a towed Synthetic Aperture Multiviews (T-SAM) vehicle and a Multi-Shot Mine Neutralisation System (MuMNS)).

[57][58] Following on the Prime Minister's announcement in late 2020 of enhanced funding for the Ministry of Defence, Jeremy Quin, Minister of State for Defence Procurement, indicated on 30 November 2020, in response to a parliamentary question, that the envisaged Type 32 frigate would, in part, replace the current mine countermeasures ships and act as a "mothership" for the Navy's future unmanned mine countermeasures capabilities, as well as serving as a platform for anti-submarine warfare.

Specifically, he said "... it is envisioned that Type 32 will be a platform for autonomous systems, adding to the Navy's capabilities for missions such as anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures".

[69] The new MRSS vessels were envisaged as having the utility to transport and deliver troops, vehicles, equipment and supplies from anywhere in the world in support of amphibious warfare and littoral manoeuvre.

[44] In June 2023, the British and Dutch governments announced that the two countries would "explore opportunities" to jointly develop new specialist amphibious warships.

[72] The 2021 white paper had announced that, in the interim, one of the three Bay-class vessels would be converted to a Littoral Strike Ship (LSS) and fitted with permanent hangars as well as incorporating other upgrades.

However, the planned conversion was subsequently delayed,[73] with, in July 2022, reports appearing that the future Littoral Strike Role would now be assumed by RFA Argus.

[74][75] In 2023 it was reported that the Royal Navy and Marines were seeking a replacement for the LCVP Mk 5 landing craft with the objective of securing service entry by 2027.

The new Commando Insertion Craft were to have a low signature and be able to carry a strike team and small vehicle over a distance of 150 miles at a speed of 25 knots.

In November 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced that the programme would be accelerated using funds gained through the cancellation of the National Flagship, a vessel which was to be used by the monarch and government officials to promote UK interests abroad.

She was purchased for some 70 million pounds and converted to act as a mothership for autonomous systems and with military communications and light defensive armament added.

[84] On 1 June 2021, the Madfox ASV successfully completed remote trials from range in the Solent, with personnel operating the vessel from the nearby coastline.

[26] In November 2022 it was announced that Team Resolute (BMT, Harland & Wolff and Navantia) had been selected to build the ships with the start of construction anticipated in 2025.

[108] In November 2022, MSubs Ltd was awarded a £15.4m contract to build an XLUUV (Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle) vessel which is to be delivered to the Royal Navy within two years.

The 17-tonne vessel (known as Project CETUS) was described as being "the next step in developing autonomous underwater warfare capability" and is also to feed into the design of SSN(R)/SSN AUKUS.

[123][122][124] In 2022, U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace reported that the RAF and Royal Navy faced a considerable challenge in providing even the existing modest F-35B fleet with qualified pilots.

The average wait time for RAF trainee Typhoon and F-35 pilots, after completing the Military Flying Training System, was approximately 11 and 12 months respectively.

[134] As part of the process of the system reaching initial operating capability, Crowsnest was deployed with the Royal Navy's carrier task group in 2021.

In 2021, the UK's Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) announced that options would be examined and might draw on the already existing Project Vixen (see below), researching the utility of a naval unmanned system that could encompass strike, airborne surveillance, air-to-air refueling and electronic warfare.

[145] The optionally-manned PZL-Świdnik SW-4 Solo completed trials with the RN in 2015 as part of the UK's RWUAS (Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System) Capability Concept Demonstrator (CCD) programme.

In March 2021, Project Vixen was revealed to the public as a programme to examine the use of fixed-wing UAVs from the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers in roles such as surveillance, strike, electronic warfare and air-to-air refueling.

[158] During the same month, it was also revealed that the MOD was seeking electromagnetic catapults and arrestor cables capable of launching large fixed-wing UAVs from the aircraft carriers within three–five years.

[161] Before leaving European waters, Prince of Wales conducted STOL trials with a WAS HCMC twin-engine heavy-lift RPAS to embark a dummy payload of naval memorabilia before returning to the UK with a fuel sample for laboratory testing, demonstrating the first steps in obtaining fixed-wing cargo capability for the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.