Royal Navy Puts Three Nuclear Missile Submarines On Patrol at Once

Britain has put three of its four nuclear-armed submarines to sea at the same time, a level of activity the Royal Navy has not matched in more than five years. The deployment touches household preparedness directly: the Defense Ministry's public messaging this month asked families to keep three days of tinned food, water bottles, cash and a wind-up radio on hand for a cyberattack or weather event that knocks out infrastructure.

The Times identified the three boats as HMS Vanguard, HMS Vigilant and HMS Vengeance. A navy source quoted by the newspaper described the simultaneous patrol as "unusual". At least one was armed with ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. The fourth vessel, HMS Victorious, is in maintenance. Britain keeps at least one submarine on patrol continuously, a practice Navy Lookout, an independent Royal Navy publication, traces to 1969. Navy Lookout reported that one boat is preparing to relieve a patrol vessel and that the third is likely undergoing sea trials or work-up activity. The last time three Vanguard-class submarines were at sea came more than five years ago, according to The Times.

Defense Secretary Wes Streeting addressed the posture in a Telegraph column published Saturday, writing that Britain must be ready for war within 1,000 days. "By 2030, their force strength and war economy could put them in a position to attack," Streeting wrote, adding that the window gives Britain "a little over 1,000 days" to be ready alongside allies. His comments followed the government's "Be Ready" campaign launch. They also followed reports that Russia has used fishing trawlers to track and spy on undersea cables around the UK.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson said the nuclear deterrent is the "cornerstone of our national security, protecting the UK and our NATO allies every moment of every day". The spokesperson said Britain remains the only European ally to commit its deterrent to NATO's defense, so all allies receive its protection. Britain and France exercised together last week: RAF Typhoon fighters escorted French jets in a simulation of a nuclear strike, the first joint drill involving France's airborne nuclear capability. France's Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said that having "independent nuclear forces does not preclude coordination" and that cooperation with Britain "continues to deepen". Streeting said adversaries "should be in no doubt" about UK and French commitment to European security.

Deployment records for individual boats are long. HMS Vanguard patrolled for 200 days last year, seven days short of the 207-day deployment HMS Victorious completed in 2021, the longest known on record.