Active Royal Navy weapon systems

The 4.5-inch (114 mm) Mark 8 gun can be found on all the Royal Navy's frigates and destroyers and was used from the Falklands War to the War in Iraq. The gun can fire up to 24 high explosive shells per minute, each weighing more than 40 kilograms (88 lb), at targets more than 12 miles (19 km) away – this can be extended to nearly 18 miles (29 km) if special extended-range shells are used.

The main purpose of the gun is naval gunfire support – artillery bombardment of shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing the equivalent of a six-gun shore battery. It can still be used as an anti-ship weapon.[1]

The 30 mm DS-30B Mk 1 and DS30M Mark 2 are 30-millimetre (1.2 in) automated naval gun systems designed to defend ships from fast inshore attack craft armed with short-range weaponry. The DS30M Mark 2 system consists of a 30 mm Mark 44 Bushmaster II cannon on a fully automated mount with an off-mount electro-optical director (EOD). The systems are fitted to all Type 23 frigates (Mk2s) , Type 45 destroyers (said to be carrying Mk1s as of 2021), Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) (Mk2s), Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels (Mk1s), Sandown-class minehunter (Mk1s) and several Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships (Bay, Tide and Wave classes) all reported to be carrying Mk1s when they have weapons packages added. The system is capable of being deployed on the aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, but as of 2021 had not been fitted.[2][3][4]

The Oerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon can be found on the Albion-class landing platform docks, the Batch 1 River-class OPVs, the primary casualty receiving ship RFA Argus, and the multi-role replenishment ship Fort Victoria.[5]

The Browning .50-calibre heavy machine gun can be found fitted to ships, the first of which was HMS Atherstone in 2014,[6] and in 2021 it was reported that HMS Lancaster had also been fitted with them.[7]

A minigun aboard HMS Monmouth

All Royal Navy ships carried miniguns for close in defence.[8][9] But the system was scheduled to be retired from service in 2023 and replaced with Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns.[10]

GPMGs are used for close in defence.[8][9]

The Phalanx Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) is an anti-ship missile defence system. It is fitted to HMS Albion, the Type 45 destroyers as well as the Bay-class landing ships and Wave and Fort Victoria-class replenishment oilers in the RFA. It is also currently in the designs for the new Type 26 frigate. During Operation Telic, Phalanx guns were removed from ships and were crewed by Royal Navy personnel based at Basra airport, as part of the Centurion C-RAM system.[11]

Phalanx is now the only CIWS fitted to Royal Navy ships following the decommissioning of HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious and the Type 22 frigates which were equipped with Goalkeeper. The last active Goalkeeper system was removed from HMS Bulwark when she entered extended readiness in 2016.

The Spearfish torpedo is the Royal Navy's heavyweight torpedo, weighing nearly 2 metric tons (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons), which is carried by both the attack submarines and ballistic missile submarines. It has a range of more than 30 mi (48 km) with a speed in excess of 92 miles per hour (148 km/h) and can be used either against other submarines or ships of any size. It carries a 300 kg (660 lb) explosive charge and is guided either by its in-built sonar or via a copper-cadmium wire.[12]

The Spearfish is undergoing a major upgrade program which will provide sophisticated advances in its homing, warheads, tactical and fueling systems, as well an upgraded guidance link.[13]

The Sting Ray torpedo is the Royal Navy's lightweight torpedo which is designed to be carried by the anti-submarine helicopters AgustaWestland Merlin and Lynx Wildcat. It has a range of around 5 mi (8.0 km) with a speed of more than 52 mph (84 km/h) and is designed to be used predominantly against submarines. It carries a 45 kg (99 lb) explosive charge which is powerful enough to punch through the double hulls of modern submarines.[14] It is also integrated on board the Type 23 frigates, deployed by two twin torpedo launchers.

The Seafox Mine Disposal System is an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) used by both the Sandown and Hunt-class minehunters to counter naval mines. The unit incorporates a remotely controlled surveillance system in order to identify a target, guided from the parent ship via fibre optic cables. Once a mine has been identified, an expendable autonomous or remote guided unit is guided to the target and detonates a shaped charge to destroy the mine. Four independent reversible motors and a hover thruster provide high manoeuvrability, allowing for exact placement prior to charge detonation. The Seafox has been used by the Royal Navy clearing coastal waters in both Iraq and Libya conflicts.

The Sea Ceptor missile is currently being integrated into the Type 23 frigates, as a replacement to the Sea Wolf missile. It has a maximum range over 25 kilometres (16 mi) and can reach Mach 3. The manufacturer states it has a "wide target set", including the capability to engage small naval vessels, which would give the missile a limited surface-to-surface role. A Royal Navy officer of the Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster stated: "Westminster managed to explore the real potential of the system during her training and to say it is a real game changer is an understatement. Unlike its predecessor, the system is capable of defending ships other than Westminster herself. Whether it's engaging multiple air threats or fast incoming attack craft, Sea Ceptor represents a massive capability upgrade for the Type 23 frigate."[16]

HMS Defender firing an Aster missile.

The Sea Viper is the main weapon of the Type 45 destroyers. As part of PAAMS, it can defend an entire naval task group against aerial threats up to 70 mi (110 km) away.

Internationally, the Sea Viper system is known as Principal Anti-Air Missile System. It comprises the SAMPSON radar, a Combat Management System, S1850M long-range radar, the Sylver vertical launching system and Aster 15 (20 mi, 32 km) and Aster 30 (75 mi, 121 km) missiles, which are highly manoeuvrable and capable of speeds over Mach 4.[17]

HMS Montrose fires a Harpoon missile

The Harpoon anti-ship missile is fitted to all Type 23 frigates and three Type 45 destroyers in a 2×4 canister configuration. Another two destroyers are fitted for but not with the missiles. The missile is a capable of striking at targets more than 80 miles (130 km) away and is also used by many other NATO navies.[18] The Harpoon was due to go out of service by the end of 2018. However, this has subsequently been revised to at least 2023.[19] As of August 2021, it was reported that, given the age of the Harpoon system, only two Royal Navy destroyers or frigates were carrying a full complement of 8 Harpoon missiles per ship. These were the frigates HMS Kent and HMS Montrose.[20] In August 2022, it was reported that in preparation for her planned deployment to the Persian Gulf to replace HMS Montrose, HMS Lancaster had also been fitted with a full complement of 8 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.[21] In September 2022, HMS Westminster fired two Harpoon missiles in Operation Atlantic Thunder 22 in a SinkEx exercise alongside US forces in which the decommissioned US frigate USS Boone was sunk in the North Atlantic.[22][23]

The permanent replacement for Harpoon will be the FC/ASW (Future Cruise/Anti Ship Weapon), first announced in 2016, it will fly at hypersonic speed and will equip the new Type 26 frigates from 2028.[24][25] In October 2021 this was put on hold,[26][27] then it was announced in November that the introduction of these weapons may be delayed until the 2030s.[28]

In March 2019 it was announced that an interim replacement for Harpoon would equip five of the Type 23 frigates.[29] In November 2022, UK Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, confirmed that Norway's Naval Strike Missile would be purchased to equip a total of eleven of the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates and Type 45 destroyers.[30][31]

The Martlet is a lightweight air-to-surface and surface-to-surface missile under development by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. As of 2021, Martlet entered initial service on the Fleet Air Arm's AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat in the air-to-surface mode with up to twenty Martlet missiles envisaged for deployment on a single Wildcat helicopter. The missile is intended to counter light fast attack boats.[32] Full operating capability is anticipated in 2025.[33]

The Martlet has also been tested in the surface-to-surface mode on the Type 23 frigate, using a launcher mounted on the side of the 30 mm cannon, as a relatively inexpensive missile to use against small craft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Sea Venom is a helicopter-launched lightweight anti-ship missile developed by MBDA to replace the Sea Skua. Sea Venom missiles were reported deployed with Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters operating as part of the Royal Navy's carrier strike group in 2021.[34] The missile weighs 110 kg (240 lb) and has a warhead of 30 kg (66 lb). However, operating challenges were reported in 2023 as "ongoing" and full operating capability for Sea Venom was delayed until 2026.[35][36] It is optimized to attack fast inshore attack craft (FIAC), however it can also damage targets up to corvette size.[37]

The Tomahawk missile, also known as TLAM (Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile), allows the Navy's submarines to strike at targets on land accurately. The missile has been in use with the Royal Navy since the late 1990s and has been used in the Kosovo conflict and in the campaigns in the War in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is fired from a boat's torpedo tubes. Once it reaches the surface, a booster rocket ignites to propel the missile skywards. The Tomahawk then heads for its target at 550 mph (890 km/h), delivering a 1,000 lb (450 kg) explosive warhead.

The Tomahawk IV is the latest version of the missile. It has a longer range than its predecessors and can be directed at a new target in-flight, and can also beam back images of the battlefield. In British service it is fitted to all Trafalgar and Astute-class submarines.[38] It is currently planned to be phased out of service in the United States Navy, with no more weapons to be produced after 2015, meaning that it may no longer be an option for the Royal Navy from around the end of the decade.[39] The UK last bought 65 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles in July 2014.[40]

The Trident nuclear missile is Britain's nuclear deterrent. Carried only by the four Vanguard-class submarines, the missiles travel up to 7,000 mi (11,000 km) at over 13,000 mph (21,000 km/h). Each Vanguard boat can carry up to sixteen missiles, and each missile can deliver up to eight warheads. Each variable yield warhead can have a yield up to 100 kt.[41]