The Telegraph reports that only two of the Royal Navy’s advanced warships are currently operational.
According to a Saturday report in The Telegraph, citing the UK Ministry of Defence, the Royal Navy’s destroyer fleet has reached an unprecedented low, with just two of its six state-of-the-art vessels currently operational.
Four Type 45 destroyers are undergoing extensive repairs and maintenance in Portsmouth, leaving the British fleet at its smallest size in over a century, the report stated.
The Type 45 destroyers, also known as the Daring class, are the cornerstone of the Royal Navy’s air defense capabilities. Designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare, these ships have experienced significant maintenance problems. One vessel has reportedly spent more time in repairs than in active service since its commissioning twelve years ago.
This drastic reduction in operational warships has raised serious national security concerns, with MPs warning of increased vulnerability to sea and air attacks.
“The report of only two operational destroyers is deeply troubling. Destroyers provide crucial air defense, and with only two, we cannot adequately defend London, or indeed the entire United Kingdom,” MP Mike Martin, a member of the defense select committee, told The Telegraph.
The report also indicates that only six of the Navy’s eight Type 23 frigates are currently operational.
With only eight out of fourteen destroyers and frigates immediately deployable—a stark contrast to the more than 800 vessels available during the Navy’s peak in 1945—the UK fleet is at its lowest point since the destroyer program began under Queen Victoria, the paper reported.
Earlier this month, British Ministry of Defence official Alistair Carns acknowledged the UK’s unpreparedness for a conflict on the scale of the war in Ukraine. He indicated that in a major conflict, the UK would exhaust its soldier reserves within six months to a year.
As of July, the British Army had just over 73,000 active-duty soldiers, the lowest number since 1823. The UK’s population was approximately 20 million then, compared to 67 million today.