Media: Royal Navy left without a single combat-ready Astute-class submarine

None of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class submarines can currently be deployed due to ongoing maintenance and repair requirements, The Daily Telegraph has reported.

The Royal Navy operates five Astute-class submarines: HMS Astute, HMS Ambush, HMS Artful, HMS Audacious and HMS Anson. A sixth vessel, HMS Agamemnon, was launched in October 2024 and formally commissioned in September 2025, but is still undergoing trials.

The UK plans to expand the Astute-class fleet to seven submarines by the end of the decade.

The Astute-class boats displace approximately 7,400 tonnes and measure 97 metres in length. They are armed with Spearfish torpedoes as well as Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles. The submarines can reach speeds of up to 29 knots and dive to depths of around 300 metres. Each vessel has a crew of 98 personnel.

The first submarine of the class, HMS Astute, entered service in 2010. The Astute-class was designed to replace the ageing Trafalgar-class submarine fleet, most of which was built during the 1980s.

In addition, the United Kingdom operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines of the Vanguard-class submarine: HMS Vanguard, HMS Vengeance, HMS Victorious and HMS Vigilant. Built in the 1990s, these submarines carry Trident II (D5) ballistic missiles.

According to the UK government's 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, the Vanguard-class submarines are due to begin being replaced in the early 2030s by the new Dreadnought-class submarine.