Future of the Royal Navy At the beginning of the 1990s the Royal Navy was a force designed for the Cold War : with its three small aircraft carrier s and a force of anti - submarine frigate s and destroyer s , its main purpose was to search for – and in the event of an actual declaration of war , to destroy – Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic . The 1982 Falklands War proved a need for the Royal Navy to maintain an expeditionary capability . However , since the end of the Cold war in the early 1990s , the Royal Navy has been forced to make an ever increasing number of commitments , while suffering a gradual reduction in the size of its surface fleet . Recent cuts have seen the retirement of the Sea Harrier with the Royal Navy sharing the Royal Air Force ' s Harrier GR7 / GR9 , until 2010 , when the Harrier GR7 / GR9 was retired . Until delivery of the Joint Combat Aircraft ( F - 35 ) and the " Queen Elizabeth " - class carriers Britain will have no fixed - wing carrier strike capability . Cuts have also seen the selling of three Type 23 frigate s in the 1990s and the early decommissioning four Type 22 frigates in 2010 / 11 . Over the course of the 1990s and the 2000s , the navy has begun a series of projects to improve its fleet , with a view to providing enhanced capabilities , although many of these have been cut or cancelled . This has led to the replacement of smaller and more numerous units with fewer , but larger , units . The main examples of this are the replacement of Type 42 destroyer s with half as many Type 45s and the confirmed replacement of the three 20 , 000 tonne " Invincible " - class aircraft carriers with two 70 , 600 tonne " Queen Elizabeth " - class aircraft carriers . There are currently 6 ships and submarines under construction : four " Astute " - class submarines ( boats 3 - 6 ) and the two " Queen Elizabeth " - class aircraft carriers , which began construction in July 2009 and May 2011 . Preparatory and design work has begun on the Global Combat Ship programme , which will replace the existing frigate fleet from 2020 , as well as a ( now separate ) scheme to replace a large number of the Royal Navy ' s minor vessels . Ships . Aircraft carriers . A major source of naval power projection is the aircraft carrier . The one remaining ship of the " Invincible " class has limited capabilities , due not only to her small size , but also to the retirement in 2010 of the Harrier GR7 / GR9 . In the 1998 Strategic Defence Review the Ministry of Defence announced that it would replace the " Invincible " class with a pair of much larger vessels of the " Queen Elizabeth " class , in a project that was originally designated as " CVF " ( " Carrier Vessel Future " ) . These two ships , " Queen Elizabeth " and " Prince of Wales " , were ordered in 2007 and will each displace approximately 70 , 600 tonnes and be some 280 metres long , making them the largest vessels ever operated by the Royal Navy . They are expected to be commissioned in 2016 and 2018 . The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review reaffirmed the government ' s commitment to purchasing both vessels . The Review stated that the Royal Navy will only need to operate one aircraft carrier , routinely equipped with 12 fast jets . The other carrier is planned to be held in extended readiness . These plans will be reviewed in 2015 . It was also announced at the time that the carrier / s would have catapult and arrestor gear ( CATOBAR ) installed to accommodate the carrier variant of the F - 35 Lightning II , rather than the short - take off and vertical - landing ( STOVL ) version previously planned . The decision to convert " Prince of Wales " to CATOBAR was reviewed after the projected costs rose to around double the original estimate . On 10 May 2012 Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced in Parliament that the government had decided to revert to its predecessor ' s plans to purchase the F - 35B rather than the F - 35C , and to complete both aircraft carriers with " ski - jumps " in the STOVL configuration . Present plans are to start flight trials of F - 35B s from 2018 , with a carrier air wing fully operational by 2020 . Surface combatants . In October 2010 , the Strategic Defence and Security Review saw decommissioning of the last 4 Type 22 frigate s in service . The SDSR further planned to replace the remaining 13 Type 23 frigate s from 2020 with the new Type 26 frigate . Since 2012 BAE Systems Naval Ships at the request of the MoD , is under a 4 - year contract to design the warship , known as the Global Combat Ship in export markets . It was formerly known as the Future Surface Combatant . The latest design for the Type 26 was revealed at the 2013 Defence Security and Equipment International exhibition . Apart from the Type 45 destroyer recently entering service the Type 23 makes up the majority of the navy ' s escort fleet . Eight of the Type 23s have been refitted and equipped with the highly capable Type 2087 towed - array sonar . The low - frequency Sonar 2087 is described by its manufacturer as " a towed - array system that enables Type 23 frigates to hunt the latest submarines at considerable distances and locate them beyond the range at which they [ submarines ] can launch an attack . Royal Navy Commander John Payne , Commanding Officer of HMS " Sutherland " ( a Type 23 frigate equipped with Sonar 2087 ) described the capability of the anti - submarine Sonar 2087 as " world - beating " . This was during exercise Auriga in 2010 . Further upgrades to the Type 23 frigates include the planned Common Anti - Air Modular Missile ( air - defence missile ) ( Sea Captor ) which will replace the Sea Wolf missile system starting in 2016 . Like Sea Wolf , CAMM will be VLS launched and will offer a longer range of 1 – 25 + km compared to the range of 1 – 10 km offered by the current Sea Wolf . The Type 23 ' s medium range radar is being replaced by the Type 997 Artisan 3D radar with the first vessel , HMS " Iron Duke " receiving its new radar in 2012 - 2013 . The Artisan 3D radar will greatly improve the air - defence , anti - surface ( anti - ship ) and air traffic management capabilities of the Type 23 frigates . Mine Countermeasures , Hydrography and Patrol Capability programme . The Mine Countermeasures , Hydrography and Patrol Capability programme ( MHPC ) can trace its origins back to 2004 with the C3 variant ( or " Global Corvette " ) of the Future Surface Combatant ( FSC ) . C3 was envisioned as an initial class of eight ships , each with a displacement of around 3 , 000 tonnes . They were to be required to fulfill a wide of range maritime commitments including ; mine countermeasures , hydrography , patrol , constabulary tasks and being capable of participating in expeditionary task force operations . It was planned that the first eight vessels would replace the " Hunt " - class and " Sandown " - class mine countermeasure vessels currently in service with the Royal Navy . Additional orders would have seen C3 eventually replace the current " Echo " - class and " River " - class vessels too . Due to the large size and capabilities , C3 would have complemented the Royal Navy ' s larger frigates and destroyers , especially with regards to maintaining Standing Royal Navy deployments . In early 2010 , C3 was abandoned and on 12 March 2010 HM Government confirmed the existence of a new MHPC programme with similar requirements to the original C3 FSC . The Strategic Defence and Security Review of October 2010 stated that the existing " Hunt " - class and " Sandown " - class of mine countermeasure vessels will be replaced . The replacement vessels will use a common hull and modular design to support the modern mine countermeasure , hydrography and patrol requirements . In December 2010 , an analyst suggested that " " Current plans seem to point to a single class of vessel about 100 m in length and between 2 , 000 and 2 , 500 tonnes displacement . These will deliver on the MCM , survey and patrol requirements using a range of off board systems like USV ’ s , UAV ’ s and UUV ’ s . " " It was also said that any programme would seek " " to replace the Hunt , Sandown , Echo and River - classes " " currently in service . During June 2011 , BAE Systems and SeeByte of Edinburgh , Scotland , signed a " " Co - operation Agreement to pursue business opportunities associated with the UK ’ s Mine Counter Measure ( MCM ) , Hydrography and Patrol Capability ( MHPC ) Programme . " " In January 2012 Dstl of the Ministry of Defence announced a programme - in ' Concept Phase ' - with interests in the development of remote mine countermeasure and hydrography systems such as UAVs , USVs and UUVs . Such systems would offer unique capabilities and deliver elements of a wider MHPC programme . In May 2012 shortly after the Dstl release , the Ministry of Defence published a ' Joint Concept Note ' entitled " " Future Black Swan - class Sloop - of - war " " . The MoD publication outlined the future maritime needs and challenges of the Royal Navy and focused on the potentiality of the Royal Navy returning to large numbers sloops as a solution . It proposes a class of around 40 Sloops - of - war , displacing 3 , 150 tonnes , a length of 95 meters and a low unit price of £65 million . The sloops would incorporate a modular design , including ; a mission bay for UAVs , USVs and UUVs during mine countermeasures and hydrography tasks , a large flight deck capable of accommodating a Boeing CH - 47 Chinook sized helicopter for disaster relief operations and external module stowage for the ability to add and remove various offensive and defensive weapons when needed . The external module stowage is described as facilitating ' Capability Packages ' so that the sloop can be reconfigured for different roles when the need arises . Fixed weapons include a single 30 mm gun , two Minigun s and two GPMGs . For ' Sea Control ' or ' war - fighting capability packages ' the " Black Swan " - class would be reconfigured with containerised missile modules for land attack , anti - ship and anti - air missiles in addition to the sloops ' fixed weapons . A towed array sonar could also be fitted as well as directed energy weapon s . The " Black Swan " - class would have a core crew of 8 with additional crew added depending on the capability package . For example , in some configurations a crew of 40 would be required . Like the Black Swan - class sloop s of World War II , the current " Black Swan " - class Sloop - of - war concept is intended to combine various different classes of ships under one single class . This brings cost benefits , due to it being cheaper to operate and maintain a single fleet of one ship class rather than smaller fleets of numerous ship classes . In addition , reduced crew requirements would reduce manpower costs and training would see more standardisation throughout the navy . As of 2013 it is unclear exactly what specifications and type of ship the MHPC programme will deliver , and whether or not the programme is still active under the MHPC title . In November 2013 it was announced that to sustain the shipbuilding base , the three River - class patrol vessel s would be replaced by three new ocean patrol vessels with Merlin - capable flightdecks , to be delivered from 2017 . Submarines . Fleet submarines ( SSN ) . The modernisation of the Royal Navy ' s submarine force centres on the " Astute " - class SSNs and the Swiftsure & Trafalgar Update Final Phase ( S & TUFP ) . In 1997 , an order was placed for three units of the " Astute " class , which was designed as the SSN replacement for the " Swiftsure " class , with an option for a further two . The fourth boat was ordered in 2007 , with boats number 5 and 6 being authorised in April 2010 . Eight boats were the official target until 2008 ; now the MOD officially plans to acquire seven " Astute " - class submarines : it remains to be seen if this target will be maintained and reached despite the high demands on defence spending . The Defence Industrial Strategy states that a 24 - month build drumbeat is needed to maintain the long - term viability of the nuclear submarine building business in the UK . In the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review , the UK Government reaffirmed its intention to procure seven " Astute " - class submarines . Aircraft . The aircraft carrier ' s major instrument of power projection is the carrier air group . The larger the air group , the more tasks it can perform . The " Invincible " class , because of its small size , has only a limited capacity , and is only capable of operating STOVL aircraft , the Harrier GR7 / GR9 . In 2006 the Sea Harrier was withdrawn from service . This saw the front line Sea Harrier squadron of the Fleet Air Arm converting to the Harrier GR9 , as part of the evolution of the Joint Force Harrier concept . The Harrier ' s eventual replacement in both the RAF and the FAA is the F - 35 Lightning II Joint Combat Aircraft . The F - 35 will be a significant improvement over the Harrier , in terms of speed , range and weapon load . The UK had plans to order 138 F - 35Bs for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force . The financial crisis led to the decision taken in the Strategic Defence and Security Review to immediately withdraw the Harrier GR9 force in late 2010 along with HMS " Ark Royal " , to reduce the total number of F - 35s planned for purchase by the UK , and to purchase the F - 35C CATOBAR version rather than the STOVL F - 35B . By May 2012 , the government had decided to purchase the short - take off version , the F - 35B instead . In July 2012 , the Secretary of State for Defence stated that an initial 48 F - 35Bs will be purchased to equip the carrier fleet . In September 2013 , it was announced that the second JSF squadron would be the Fleet Air Arm ' s 809 NAS . The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review states that the Royal Navy will operate two types of helicopter in the future - the AW101 Merlin and the AW159 Lynx Wildcat . The anti - surface / anti - submarine mission remains the purview of rotary aircraft ; in small ships this is the updated Mk8 version of the Lynx . The Future Lynx program has seen 28 of the new helicopters , baptized the AW159 Lynx Wildcat , ordered for the Royal Navy . However , in the carriers and in later frigates , the larger and more capable Merlin anti - submarine warfare helicopter is used . There are 38 Merlin helicopters in service , and an upgrade plan intended to increase their flexibility of use until 2029 is planned . The Sea King HC4 remains in the commando assault mission from HMS " Ocean " . In late 2009 it was announced that the Fleet Air Arm would lose its remaining Sea King HC4 helicopters , their place being taken by Merlins upgraded and transferred from the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . The future AEW capability of the FAA is the " Crowsnest " programme , which intended to replace the current Sea King ASaC7 fleet due to retire in 2016 . Current plans will see Crowsnest enter service in 2022 ( with a main gate in 2017 ) acting as a roll - on / roll - off fit for the FAAs Merlin HM2 helicopters . The six year capability - gap between the retirement of the Sea King ASaC7 fleet and the entry service of Crowsnest has been the source of much criticism . A recent PAC report , however , has revealed the Main Gate decision for the Crowsnest to be around 2017 . Missiles . Lightweight Multirole Missile ; A short range , supersonic anti - ship missile for use against small surface warships , patrol vessels and craft . The missile is due to enter service around 2015 and be deployed on the Fleet Air Arms new Lynx Wildcat maritime helicopters . Deliveries start in 2013 . The Royal Marines . The Royal Marines Viking vehicles ( 99 of them ) have been undergoing an upgrade by BAE Systems in Sweden since 2012 .