The Royal Navy's surface combatant fleet - excluding auxiliaries, minesweepers, submarines and carriers - is set to fall to just 15 ships by 2027 under current plans, according to a new report from the UK Ministry of Defense.

The service's future Type 31 frigates have been delayed by four years, putting their arrival in mid-2027. The current Type 23 frigates that they will replace are set to be decommissioned beginning in 2023. The retirement of the Type 23s will cut the number of UK frigates down to nine vessels before the first Type 31 arrives. Add in the six Type 45 destroyers and the Royal Navy's warship force will come in at 15 hulls - a smaller surface navy than that of Italy or France.

“Just 15 major service ships will put us into the second tier of the world’s navies," said former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West, speaking to UK tabloid The Sun. “Fifteen surface ships means only five on task, as a third will be in maintenance and a third will be training. For a great nation like ours, just five [warships] on task is a national embarrassment and disgrace.”

The United States currently has about 90 major surface combatants (not including hundreds of other vessels), and it hopes to grow its force through autonomous or optionally-manned systems in years ahead. China has 88 warships and rising; Russia has 26; and India has 23.