Drones vs ships and submarinesPrest also warns that there may be limits to how much Britain can rely on drones to make up the numbers. “Because to some extent, they will always come at the expense of other areas that people would like to see action.”Yet for Salisbury, the biggest concern in the coming years is that the stretched Royal Navy runs out of time. But if we hadn’t made those short-termist decisions, we would be in a much better place right now.”A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Our Royal Navy are among the best in the world. Our nuclear deterrent protects us every moment of every day and Royal Navy personnel are deployed across the world keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad. “As the Defence Secretary stated this week, the Royal Navy play a vital role in protecting UK critical national infrastructure from Russian threats.

Source: The Times April 12, 2026 17:18 UTC