His Majesty's Naval Service, referred to colloquially as the Royal Navy, after the primary fighting arm of the service, is the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. The Military, armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy. Naval operations can be ...

and maritime service. It consists of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RF ...

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

Royal Marines Reserve The Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines. The RMR consists of some 600 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK. About 10 percent of the force are working with ...

and Naval Careers Service. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the Regulatory agency, commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headqua ...

, which is headed by the

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

. This position is currently held by

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Ben Key (appointed November 2021). The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

, chaired by the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the ...

. The Naval Service is dominated by the Royal Navy, and operates primarily from three bases in the United Kingdom where commissioned ships are based;

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Clyde and Devonport, the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe. As of December 2024, there were about 90 vessels in service with the various branches of the Naval Service, plus more than 90 additional vessels operated by the supporting

Serco Marine Services Serco Marine Services is a Private Finance Initiative contract, with Serco, Serco Group, to deliver auxiliary services to His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary). Marine Services primarily opera ...

. These vessels included: 62 commissioned ships of the Royal Navy, 17 principal landing craft of the Royal Marines, 11 auxiliary ships of the

and 90+ supporting Marine Services vessels. Additional vessels are under charter to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. As of 2022, HM Naval Service (Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Naval Careers Service) employed about 39,500 regular and reserve personnel. In 2020, the First Sea Lord announced that the 'Naval Service' will informally be known as the 'Royal Navy'. The Royal Navy was made a colloquial name for the Naval Service as part of a transformation programme with the approval of the Navy Executive Committee to reflect the strength of the Royal Navy brand and assist with unifying the force. The total

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is, as of December 2024, around 671,000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s, while the combined displacement of Royal Marine landing craft is approximately an additional 2,200 tonnes.

King's Regulations for the Royal Navy

Components as of 2017

The 2017

Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy The ''King's Regulations'' (first published in 1731 and known as the ''Queen's Regulations'' when the monarch is female) is a collection of orders and regulations in force in the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, and Commonwealth Realm ...

stipulate that the Naval Service consists of: * The

(

) - including

Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch. As of 1 January 2006, according to former Ministry of Defence junior ministe ...

* The

(

) * Naval Careers Service The

(RFA) operate a fleet of auxiliaries in support of the Royal Navy. RFA personnel are part of the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Among the many contractors which support the Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy is

, provided under a

private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...

Former composition

The following services were formerly also components of the Naval Service: * The

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

(merged into the Royal Navy in 1993) * The

Royal Naval Minewatching Service The Royal Naval Mine Watching Service was a civilian organisation formed in 1952 as part of the auxiliary forces of the United Kingdom, British Naval Service (United Kingdom), Naval Service. Its intended wartime role was to man observation poin ...

(reformed into the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service in 1962 and disbanded in 1994) * The

(incorporated within the Royal Navy in 2000) Naval Reserve Forces: * The

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

(merged with the Royal Naval Reserve in 1958) ** The Royal Naval Volunteer (Supplementary) Reserve ** The Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve ** The Royal Naval Volunteer (Postal) Reserve) * The Royal Naval Emergency Reserve (disbanded ) * The Royal Naval Special Reserve (disbanded ) * The Women's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (renamed the Women's Royal Naval Reserve in 1958, merged into the Royal Naval Reserve in 1993) ** The Women's Royal Naval Supplementary Reserve * The Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Reserve (incorporated within the Royal Naval Reserve in 2000) Formerly the

Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Ro ...

(merged with the former Port Auxiliary Service in 1976), the Fleet Reserve, and the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors were also considered part of the Naval Service.

Composition of the Naval Service

Royal Navy

Referred to as the "Senior Service" by virtue of it being the oldest service within the British Armed Forces, the Royal Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force and forms the core structure of the Naval Service. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the

Fleet Commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service (United Kingdom), Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is requ ...

. The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navy's of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines. The surface fleet consists of

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels. The submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years. The service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines until the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, the ''Upholder''-class diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn and the attack submarine flotilla is now exclusively nuclear-powered. File:HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) underway during trials with HMS Sutherland (F81) and HMS Iron Duke (F234) on 28 June 2017 (45162784).jpg, on sea trials in June 2017 File:Vanguard at Faslane 02.jpg, , a

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

File:HMS Diamond MOD 45155341.jpg, , a Type 45

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

Royal Marines

The infantry component of the Naval Service is the Corps of Royal Marines. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (

UK Commando Force United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK's special operations-capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel fr ...

) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious,

arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

, and

mountain warfare Mountain warfare or alpine warfare is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, hazards, and factors of combat and movement through rough terrain, as well as the strategies ...

. Contained within the UK Commando Force are attached army units; 29 Commando Regiment

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, an artillery regiment based in Plymouth, and 24 Commando Regiment

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. Both regiments have Commando

REME The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full ...

detachments. The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy. File:A Royal Marine LCVP Landing Craft MOD 45150169.jpg, Mk5 Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel File:Royal Marine LCAC(LR) Hovercraft MOD 45154442.jpg, 2000TDX

Landing Craft Air Cushion The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from s ...

File:Royal Marines During Winter Training in Norway MOD 45152252.jpg, Royal Marines during the annual Cold Weather Training exercise

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the

British Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. ...

. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea (RAS). It also transports

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises. RFA personnel are members of the

civil service who wear Merchant Navy rank insignia with naval uniforms and are under naval discipline when the vessel is engaged on warlike operations. RFA vessels are commanded and crewed by these civilians, augmented with regular and reserve Royal Navy personnel to perform specialised military functions such as operating and maintaining helicopters or providing hospital facilities. The RFA is funded out of the UK defence budget and the Commodore commanding the RFA is directly responsible to the Royal Navy

. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also provides the naval service's principal amphibious warfare capability through its three vessels. The service is manned by around 1,750 civilian personnel (as of late 2022). File:Mounts Bay (L3008).jpg, , a File:RFA Fort Victoria A387 BB.jpg, , a

replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. Th ...

File:RFA Argus-2.jpg, , an aviation training and casualty receiving ship

Naval Careers Service

The Naval Careers Service is the recruiting arm of the Naval Service. It is manned by former Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel who are typically based at Armed Forces Careers Offices. It is the smallest component of the Naval Service, comprising fewer than 200 personnel.

In support of the Naval Service

Marine Services, U.K.

Marine Services enables Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships, including the United Kingdom's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent, to either move in or out of port for operational deployment and training exercises around the world. The service operates a large assortment of vessels including tugs and pilot boats as well as transporting stores, liquid and munitions and providing passenger transfer services to and from ships for officers and crew. Serco Denholm took over Marine Services to the Naval Service from the now disbanded Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service in 2008. In late 2009 Serco bought out Denholm's share, with the service now being known as Serco Marine Services. In 2025, Serco won a renewal of the contract to continue services for the Naval Service until 2035.

Marine Services, Gibraltar

Marine services at the

Port of Gibraltar A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, including naval vessels using the port, are provided by Boluda Towage Europe. Boluda acquired Resolve Marine Group in 2024, which had been equipped with one ASD ocean-going and harbour tug (''Resolve Hercules''), four harbour tugs (''Rooke'', ''Wellington'', ''Egerton'' and ''Eliott''), two barges (''Isaac 1874'' and ''RMG 280'') as well as the anchor-handling tug ''Resolve Blizzard'', which provided regional firefighting, oil pollution and emergency response services. Several of these assets were acquired by Boluda which, in June 2024, also strengthened its own presence at Gibraltar by adding the tugboat “VB Responder” to its fleet.

Marine Services, Falkland Islands

As of 2021, marine services at the British military and naval port in the Falkland Islands,

Mare Harbour Mare Harbour, known colloquially as East Cove Port, is a small settlement on East Falkland, on Choiseul Sound. It is mostly used as a port facility and depot for RAF Mount Pleasant, as well as a deepwater port used by the Royal Navy ships patro ...

, were provided by the contracted Netherlands Marine Services company Van Wijngaarden. The company operated two tugs (''Giesenstroom'' and ''Dintelstroom'') as well as a multi-purpose barge (''MP2003'') at the port. File:SD Northern River (7901319836).jpg, , a Marine Services multi-purpose ship File:HMS Iron Duke Fitted with Artisan Radar MOD 45155677.jpg, , a Marine Services ATD 2909-class tug File:SD Navigator, Serco, off the coast of Isle of Portland, Dorset-9462.jpg, SD ''Navigator'', a Marine Services Multicat 2510-class recovery vessel

Lists of vessels

See the articles below for lists of vessels operated by or in support of His Majesty's Naval Service: *

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 Ship commissioning, commissioned and active ...

- 62 (including nine nuclear-powered submarines; plus additionally two non-commissioned training vessels, one experimental ship, one experimental uncrewed submarine and several dozen smaller boats) *

List of active Royal Marines military watercraft List of active Royal Marines military watercraft is a list of landing craft and other watercraft in service with the Royal Marines. It consists of a varied fleet of landing craft, patrol vessels and special forces watercraft (I.e. mini submarines ...

- 17 principal landing craft (plus three patrol boats and some 85 smaller

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

and inshore raiding craft;

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roy ...

operates additional specialist craft, including up to three combat submersibles) * List of active Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships - 11 (plus additional ships under charter to the MoD) *

List of ships of Serco Marine Services List of ships of Serco Marine Services is a list of active ships operated by Serco Marine Services in support of His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary). As of 2025, Marine Services operates m ...

- 90+ (plus additional vessels operated by other companies in certain overseas territories)

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* BR 2 - ''Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy'' * BR1806 - ''British Maritime Doctrine'', Glossary
''United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2005'' - glossary
{{Authority control * Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)