^^^^^^
Good point, Tailhook.

FULL INVENTORY IN 2026
166 SHIPS
Navy
TYPE CLASS SHIP NAME HULL NUMBER STATUS YEAR

AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
Aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth HMS Queen Elizabeth R08 Active 2017
Queen Elizabeth HMS Prince of Wales R09 Active 2019

DESTROYERS
Anti-air guided-missile destroyer Type 45 / Daring HMS Daring D32 Active 2009
Type 45 / Daring HMS Dauntless D33 Active 2010
Type 45 / Daring HMS Diamond D34 Active 2011
Type 45 / Daring HMS Dragon D35 Active 2012
Type 45 / Daring HMS Defender D36 Active 2013
Type 45 / Daring HMS Duncan D37 Active 2013

FRIGATES
Guided-missile frigate Type 23 / Duke HMS Somerset F82 Active 1996
Type 23 / Duke HMS Sutherland F81 Active 1997
Type 23 / Duke HMS Kent F78 Active 2000
Type 23 / Duke HMS Portland F79 Active 2001
Type 23 / Duke HMS St Albans F83 Active 2002
Anti-submarine frigate Type 26 / City HMS Glasgow F88 Fitting Out 2027
Type 26 / City HMS Cardiff F89 Fitting Out 2028
General-purpose frigate Type 31 / Inspiration HMS Venturer F12 Fitting Out 2027
Type 31 / Inspiration HMS Active F08 Fitting Out —
Anti-submarine frigate Type 26 / City HMS Belfast F90 ORDERED 2029
Type 26 / City HMS Birmingham F91 ORDERED 2030
Type 26 / City HMS Sheffield F92 ORDERED —
Type 26 / City HMS Newcastle F93 ORDERED —
Type 26 / City HMS London F94 ORDERED —
Type 26 / City HMS Edinburgh F95 ORDERED —
General-purpose frigate Type 31 / Inspiration HMS Formidable F11 ORDERED —
Type 31 / Inspiration HMS Bulldog F09 ORDERED —
Type 31 / Inspiration HMS Campbeltown F10 ORDERED —

MINE WARFARE SHIPS
Minehunter Hunt HMS Ledbury M30 Active 1981
Hunt HMS Cattistock M31 Active 1982
Hunt HMS Brocklesby M33 Active 1983
Hunt HMS Middleton M34 Active 1984
Hunt HMS Hurworth M39 Active 1985
Sandown HMS Bangor M109 Active 2000
Mine countermeasures mothership Stirling Castle HMS Stirling Castle M01 Active 2025
Static Training Ship Hunt Brecon M29 Non Commissioned 1979
Sandown Hindostan (ex-Cromer) M103 Non Commissioned 1992

OTHER SHIPS
First-rate ship of the line — HMS Victory — Active 1778
Experimental vessel — XV Patrick Blackett X01 Non Commissioned 2022

PATROL BOATS
Patrol boat Archer HMS Archer P264 Active 1985
Archer HMS Biter P270 Active 1986
Archer HMS Smiter P272 Active 1988
Archer HMS Pursuer P273 Active 1988
Archer HMS Blazer P279 Active 1988
Archer HMS Dasher P280 Active 1988
Archer HMS Puncher P291 Active 1988
Archer HMS Charger P292 Active 1988
Archer HMS Ranger P293 Active 1988
Archer HMS Trumpeter P294 Active 1988
Archer HMS Express P163 Active 1988
Archer HMS Example P165 Active 1985
Archer HMS Explorer P164 Active 1986
Archer HMS Exploit P167 Active 1988
Archer HMS Tracker P274 Active 1998
Archer HMS Raider P275 Active 1998
Cutlass HMS Cutlass P295 Active 2022
Cutlass HMS Dagger P296 Active 2022
Offshore patrol vessel River HMS Tyne P281 Active 2003
River HMS Severn P282 Active 2003
River HMS Mersey P283 Active 2003
River HMS Forth P222 Active 2018
River HMS Medway P223 Active 2019
River HMS Trent P224 Active 2020
River HMS Tamar P233 Active 2020
River HMS Spey P234 Active 2021

SUBMARINES
Fleet submarine Astute HMS Astute S119 Active 2010
Astute HMS Ambush S120 Active 2013
Astute HMS Artful S121 Active 2016
Astute HMS Audacious S122 Active 2021
Astute HMS Anson S123 Active 2022
Astute HMS Agamemnon S124 Active 2025
Ballistic missile submarine Vanguard HMS Vanguard S28 Active 1993
Vanguard HMS Victorious S29 Active 1995
Vanguard HMS Vigilant S30 Active 1996
Vanguard HMS Vengeance S31 Active 1999
Fleet submarine Astute HMS Achilles S125 ORDERED 2028
Ballistic missile submarine Dreadnought HMS Dreadnought — ORDERED 2030
Dreadnought HMS Valiant — ORDERED —
Dreadnought HMS Warspite — ORDERED —
Dreadnought HMS King George VI — ORDERED —

SUPPORT SHIPS
Ocean survey — HMS Scott H131 Active 1997
Icebreaker & survey — HMS Protector A173 Active 2011
Survey motor launch Sea class 18 m variant HMS Magpie H130 Active 2018
Passenger transfer vessels ALN-139 Sea Harrier — Non Commissioned 2017
ALN-139 Buccaneer — Non Commissioned 2017
ALN-139 Sea Vixen — Non Commissioned 2017
ALN-139 Swordfish — Non Commissioned 2017
Workboat Sea class — —
(34 ships) Non Commissioned 2024

UNMANNED VESSELS
Extra-Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV) — XV Excalibur — Non Commissioned 2025
Autonomous surface vessel — Madfox — Non Commissioned 2021
Autonomous minehunting Arcims RNMB Hussar — Non Commissioned 2021
Arcims RNMB Hazard — Non Commissioned 2021
Arcims RNMB Hebe — Non Commissioned 2021
Arcims RNMB Halcyon — Non Commissioned 2021
Arcims RNMB Harrier — Non Commissioned 2021
Arcims RNMB Hydra — Non Commissioned 2021
Arcims RNMB Hellcat — Non Commissioned 2025
Autonomous surface vessel K-3 Scout — —
(20 ships) Non Commissioned 2026
Uncrewed Surface Vessel Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) RNMB Apollo — Non Commissioned 2021
Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) RNMB Abdiel — Non Commissioned 2022
Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) RNMB Ariadne — Non Commissioned 2025
Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) RNMB Adventure — Non Commissioned 2026
Thales Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) — —
(2 ships) ORDERED —

Link

British Army Personnel and Equipment

Army Category Numbers
Army Personnel 108,413
Main Battle Tanks 288
Armored Vehicles 94,064
Self-Propelled Artillery 14
Towed Artillery 126
Rocket Artillery Systems 43

The British Army operates several advanced armored and reconnaissance platforms designed for modern battlefield operations. Some of the country’s key military systems include:

Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks
Challenger 3 modernization program
Boxer armored vehicles
Ajax reconnaissance vehicles
The Challenger 3 program is one of the UK’s major military modernization projects aimed at improving firepower, battlefield survivability, digital integration, and combat efficiency for future warfare scenarios.

The United Kingdom is also investing heavily in advanced battlefield technologies, including artificial intelligence, drone systems, electronic warfare capabilities, cyber defense, and network-centric combat systems that allow faster communication and real-time battlefield coordination.

With its highly trained troops, combat experience, advanced armored systems, and strong NATO integration, the British Army Strength 2026 remains one of the most capable and respected land forces in Europe.

Link

What they have and what they can field are different issues. All reports I’ve seen say they could only field 20-40 MBTs in a 30-60 day window. There has also been a formal complaint that the current PM is claiming security spending (MI5/MI6) in their defense budget to try and pad spending numbers. Their frigate and destroyer numbers are misleading too.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/po...nce-spending-claims/

https://www.independent.co.uk/...efence-b2701635.html

https://www.navylookout.com/ro...tee-report-suggests/

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
I'm not familiar with Russ Read @ RussCanRead, but Russ needs to keep reading and do some more research. He missed the fact that the UK has two modern aircraft carriers - the HMS Queen Elizabeth (commissioned in 2017) and the HMS Prince of Wales (commissioned in 2019). Considering this glaring oversight in his post makes the rest of his claims suspect.

That Russ Read is apparently the Russ Read that is a foreign policy reporter and Pentagon correspondent for The Daily Caller News Foundation.

He's not that far off as to Army. According to the House of Commons Library, as of April 2026 it consisted of around 70,000 personnel. Two (2) divisions with supporting units can cover those (30,000-40,000 each).

As to the Royal Navy, I have no idea. But he seems to be right about the six (6) destroyers.

Regardless, I'm not stepping foot in England until things get back to normal. Not even to the area where "time stands (stood?) still".

Fwiw, https://commonslibrary.parliam...-briefings/cbp-7930/

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
I'm not familiar with Russ Read @ RussCanRead, but Russ needs to keep reading and do some more research. He missed the fact that the UK has two modern aircraft carriers - the HMS Queen Elizabeth (commissioned in 2017) and the HMS Prince of Wales (commissioned in 2019). Considering this glaring oversight in his post makes the rest of his claims suspect.

^^^
When they are working. But more importantly, if they deployed both at the same time, assuming they both were working, they’d essentially deplete their entire support fleet of destroyers and frigates leaving nothing for their home waters or elsewhere.

https://sldinfo.com/2026/06/fr...ins-shrinking-fleet/

https://www.naval-technology.c...ss-carriers/?cf-view

To be fair, they might have fixed most of the classes problems but I’m not confident they have.

In any event, if they had to deploy to the Falkland Islands again, they couldn’t do it. They would have better carrier(s) but not enough frigates and destroyers to protect them let alone their other interests at home and abroad.

https://dalyhistory.wordpress....ates-and-destroyers/

BB61, I suspect we're both familiar with actual vs. reported ship and fleet readiness status, and how they affect a country's ability to carry out foreign policy. I was simply pointing out either the intellectual dishonesty or truly gross incompetence of Mr. Read's post on X. Reviewing his current and previous jobs on LinkedIn, I would have expected him to at least acknowledge the two largest (and latest) capital ships in the UK fleet. But of course it's easy to simply overlook facts when they don't fit the intended narrative.

I found these reports from Mark Felton on the state of the UK navy to be both enlightening and discouraging:

The Shocking State of Britain's Navy 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gru2EDJvj9Q

British Navy Doom Loop - Can Terminal Decline Be Halted?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBe_36XfZb4

/\ /\ /\

Blimey!

quote:

I found these reports from Mark Felton on the state of the UK navy to be both enlightening and discouraging:

Wow! Sad... "managed decline".

The UK has been our closest ally, at least since the WWII era, but things have changed recently (since 1996).
The Islamification of Britain is a large part of it.

quote:

... the UK has two modern aircraft carriers - the HMS Queen Elizabeth (commissioned in 2017) and the HMS Prince of Wales (commissioned in 2019).

Only one of which can operate at a time, when not laid up in drydock for repairs. And uses "ski-jump" launching, which means the aircraft can't take off fully fueled and weaponed. This from the country that invented the aircraft carrier.

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
BB61, I suspect we're both familiar with actual vs. reported ship and fleet readiness status, and how they affect a country's ability to carry out foreign policy. I was simply pointing out either the intellectual dishonesty or truly gross incompetence of Mr. Read's post on X. Reviewing his current and previous jobs on LinkedIn, I would have expected him to at least acknowledge the two largest (and latest) capital ships in the UK fleet. But of course it's easy to simply overlook facts when they don't fit the intended narrative.

^^^^
Fair enough. But the carriers aren’t really a credible threat if you can’t use them or protect them.

I’ve watched the British military capability slowly deteriorate for years. Recently, General Sir Nick Carter, former chief of their defense staff, warned that Britain was becoming Belgium with nuclear weapons because of the lack of military spending. https://x.com/gerryhassan/stat...781862904090816?s=61