The Royal Navy currently has zero attack submarines available for operations, with all five of its Astute-class hunter-killer boats docked for maintenance or technical issues.
According to multiple reports, the entire fleet of Astute-class submarines — HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious, and Anson — is alongside, leaving Britain without a single operational nuclear-powered attack submarine for the first time in recent memory.
HMS Agamemnon, a sixth boat of the Astute class, has been officially commissioned but is still in the testing phase.
The vessels are undergoing various levels of planned maintenance, repairs, and upgrades, with significant delays caused by chronic shortages of skilled personnel, dockyard capacity at Devonport, and industrial bottlenecks.
This situation is particularly concerning because the Astute-class boats are responsible for protecting the Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines that form the UK’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent, as well as conducting intelligence gathering, anti-submarine warfare, and special operations in high-threat areas such as the North Atlantic.
The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on individual submarine operations, but has confirmed it is working on a “submarine maintenance recovery plan” to improve availability.
Senior naval figures have privately described the current state as “unacceptable” and “very worrying,” especially amid heightened Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic.
Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West called the situation “a real embarrassment” for a country that aspires to be a leading naval power.
The crisis highlights long-standing problems in the UK’s submarine industrial base, including skills shortages, over-reliance on a single deep-maintenance facility at Devonport, and the enormous complexity of maintaining nuclear-powered vessels.
Defence analysts warn that prolonged low availability undermines deterrence and leaves critical gaps in Britain’s underwater capabilities at a time of growing global tension.
Additionally, the bigger Vanguard submarines that carry the Trident ballistic missiles that comprise the UK’s nuclear deterrent are crucially protected by the submarines, the Daily Mail noted.
The Royal Navy is now racing to return at least three Astute-class boats to high readiness by the end of 2026.
The vulnerability of remote territories such as the Chagos Islands (including the strategically vital Diego Garcia base) was a major factor in the controversial decision to hand sovereignty to Mauritius, as sustaining a credible long-term defence presence without sufficient submarines has become increasingly difficult.
COMMENT: Ireland is now the EU’s richest country per capita, with no navy, no air force, and no intention of following any rule it finds inconvenient — but always ready to wag a sanctimonious finger, writes Kevin Myers. https://t.co/00gg6tDuKR
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 3, 2025
