UK’s Royal Navy has ‘serious’ anti-submarine warfare gap, committee finds

PARIS — The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy has a “serious anti-submarine warfare gap” that weakens the country’s ability to respond to Russia’s submarine and underwater-sabotage threat, a parliamentary committee on defense in the High North found.

The Royal Navy currently has only five Type 23 frigates for anti-submarine warfare in service, compared with a stated requirement of eight, and analysis suggests the number of frigates equipped with a towed array sonar could remain as low as five for the next three years, the Defence Committee wrote in an inquiry report published on Thursday .

Anti-submarine warfare frigates are “critical” to helping locate Russian submarines, both in the High North as well as in British home waters, including to protect the U.K.’s ballistic missile submarines that provide the country’s nuclear deterrent when entering or leaving their base in Faslane, Scotland, according to the report.

“Although new frigates will eventually join the fleet in sufficient numbers, the current fleet readiness picture raises doubts about whether the U.K. could sustain the maritime tasks required in the High North by 2030,” the committee said.

Citing the critical role of anti-submarine operations in the High North, the committee recommended the government ensures no further Type 23 frigates equipped with towed sonar leave Navy service until they’re replaced on a one-on-one basis by the future Type 26 frigates .

The U.K. has ordered eight Type 26 frigates from BAE Systems for the anti-submarine warfare role, with the lead vessel scheduled to enter service in 2028, and Minister of State for Defence Luke Pollard said in June that the program remained on track . Norway said in August 2025 it would buy five Type 26s , with delivery to start in 2030.

Should two of the Type 26 frigates being built for the U.K. instead go to Norway to meet the delivery deadline, the Royal Navy would take until 2037 to meet its requirement for a fleet of eight frigates equipped with a towed array sonar.

“Export success must not come at the expense of the Royal Navy’s own Type 26 frigate delivery timelines,” the committee said. “The government must ensure that naval exports expand industrial capacity and allied capability, rather than competing with U.K. requirements for scarce ships, systems and skilled labor.”

The High North, which the committee defined as the greater Arctic and parts of the North Atlantic, “has become central” in U.K. defense and security concerns, with climate change increasing access to the region, according to the report.

As melting ice sheets and sea ice expose Russian bases that were previously mostly inaccessible, Russia is seeking both to defend those bases as well as project force into the Atlantic and U.K. territorial waters, according to the committee. That threatens NATO supply lines from the United States to Europe, as well as undersea and onshore infrastructure, including the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent.

Lack of a credible under-ice capability means the Navy is less able to contest Russian freedom of action in the High North, which risks forcing the U.K. into a more defensive posture, according to the report. The Defence Committee asked the government to brief panel members on progress towards re-establishing an under-ice capability for at least some of the country’s Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines.

The Navy’s ASW frigates and nuclear-powered submarines offer the greatest deterrent against the threat posed by Russian submarines and underwater sabotage, though “unfortunately, they are either aging or too often unavailable due to maintenance issues,” the committee report said.

For the U.K. to lead an effective coalition would require the country to address “glaring gaps” in the availability of its maritime forces, and an agreed plan with European allies to deter and if necessary defeat any aggression in the High North from 2030, according to the report.

The committee asked the Ministry of Defence to provide a classified assessment of the capability gaps in case of a conflict in the High North in 2030 in which the U.K. and allies would operate without U.S. support.

“Royal Navy equipment readiness and platform numbers in particular are currently far worse than the government’s stated requirements,” the report said. “With 2030 identified as a key date by which to be ready to deter or defeat any Russian threat, dramatic progress is required before the end of the decade to improve the availability and capabilities of the U.K.’s Armed Forces for operations in the High North.”

The Royal Navy has a requirement for 13 frigates and six destroyers, but has struggled to meet those numbers, the committee said, with only the five Type 23 frigates and six Type 45 destroyers in service.

With the Northern Sea Route becoming more accessible, Russia may try to turn control there into a monopoly, and the government should prepare options for a U.K. state-owned vessel to transit the route to support freedom of navigation, the committee said. Sailing from Shanghai to Rotterdam takes about 14,900 kilometers via the northern route, compared with 19,500 km via the Suez Canal.

The report raised questions about the U.K.’s Hybrid Navy program to combine crewed and uncrewed vessels, saying the High North is “an exceptionally demanding environment” for autonomous systems, and the concept should not become a substitute for crewed capability before unmanned systems have been proven in harsh Arctic conditions.

The committee recommended the government explain within a year how it will test the Hybrid Navy’s main uncrewed systems in High North conditions before relying on them for operational tasks, looking at issues such as cold-weather performance, resistance to jamming and protection from capture.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——英国议会国防委员会发现，英国皇家海军存在“严重的反潜作战能力差距”，这削弱了英国应对俄罗斯潜艇和水下破坏威胁的能力。

英国国防委员会在周四发布的一份调查报告中写道，皇家海军目前只有五艘 23 型反潜护卫舰在役，而官方要求是八艘。分析表明，未来三年内，配备拖曳阵列声呐的护卫舰数量可能仍只有五艘。

报告称，反潜护卫舰对于帮助定位俄罗斯潜艇至关重要，无论是在北海还是在英国本土水域，包括在苏格兰法斯莱恩基地进出时保护英国的弹道导弹潜艇，这些潜艇为英国提供核威慑力量。

委员会表示：“尽管新的护卫舰最终会以足够的数量加入舰队，但目前的舰队战备状况令人怀疑英国能否在 2030 年前维持在高北地区所需的海上任务。”

鉴于反潜作战在高北地区的关键作用，委员会建议政府确保配备拖曳声呐的 23 型护卫舰不再离开海军服役，直到未来的 26 型护卫舰一对一地替换它们为止。

英国已向英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）订购了8艘26型护卫舰，用于反潜作战，首舰计划于2028年服役。英国国防国务大臣卢克·波拉德（Luke Pollard）在6月份表示，该项目进展顺利。挪威于2025年8月宣布将购买5艘26型护卫舰，预计将于2030年开始交付。

如果为英国建造的两艘 26 型护卫舰转而交付给挪威以满足交付期限，那么英国皇家海军要到 2037 年才能满足其对配备拖曳阵列声呐的八艘护卫舰的需求。

委员会表示：“出口成功绝不能以牺牲皇家海军自身26型护卫舰的交付进度为代价。政府必须确保海军出口能够扩大工业产能和盟国能力，而不是与英国对稀缺舰艇、系统和熟练劳动力的需求形成竞争。”

报告称，高北地区（委员会将其定义为大北极地区和北大西洋部分地区）“已成为英国国防和安全关注的焦点”，气候变化增加了进入该地区的可能性。

据该委员会称，随着冰盖和海冰融化，俄罗斯此前大多难以进入的军事基地逐渐暴露出来，俄罗斯正寻求保卫这些基地，并向大西洋和英国领海投射武力。这威胁到北约从美国到欧洲的补给线，以及包括英国核威慑力量在内的海底和陆上基础设施。

报告指出，由于缺乏可靠的冰下作战能力，英国海军在北极地区对抗俄罗斯行动自由的能力有所下降，这可能迫使英国采取更加防御性的姿态。国防委员会要求政府向委员会成员汇报为至少部分“机敏”级核动力攻击潜艇重建冰下作战能力的进展情况。

海军的反潜护卫舰和核动力潜艇对俄罗斯潜艇和水下破坏活动构成的威胁具有最大的威慑力，但委员会报告称，“不幸的是，它们要么老化，要么由于维护问题而经常无法使用”。

报告指出，英国要领导一个有效的联盟，就需要解决其海上力量可用性方面的“明显差距”，并与欧洲盟友达成一致，制定一项计划，以从 2030 年起威慑并在必要时击败任何在北高地发生的侵略行为。

委员会要求国防部提供一份机密评估报告，说明如果2030年在北半球发生冲突，英国及其盟友在没有美国支持的情况下开展行动，其能力差距会有多大。

报告指出：“皇家海军的装备战备状态，尤其是平台数量，目前远低于政府提出的要求。2030年被确定为应对俄罗斯威胁、遏制或击败俄罗斯威胁的关键节点，因此，在本十年结束前，英国武装部队在北高地作战的可用性和能力必须取得显著提升。”

委员会表示，英国皇家海军需要13艘护卫舰和6艘驱逐舰，但一直难以满足这一数量要求，目前只有5艘23型护卫舰和6艘45型驱逐舰在役。

委员会表示，随着北方海路通航便利性提高，俄罗斯可能会试图将该航线的控制权转变为垄断，英国政府应做好准备，安排英国国有船舶通过该航线，以维护航行自由。从上海到鹿特丹，经北方海路航行约需14900公里，而经苏伊士运河则需19500公里。

该报告对英国的混合海军计划提出了质疑，该计划旨在将有人驾驶舰艇和无人驾驶舰艇结合起来。报告称，高北地区对于自主系统而言是一个“极其苛刻的环境”，在无人系统在严酷的北极条件下得到验证之前，该概念不应取代有人驾驶能力。

委员会建议政府在一年内解释如何在北半球高纬度条件下测试混合海军的主要无人系统，然后再将其用于作战任务，并考虑诸如寒冷天气性能、抗干扰能力和防俘获能力等问题。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。