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At the beginning of the 1990s the Royal Navy was a force designed for the Cold War. The main purpose of its fleet, based around three small aircraft carriers and a force of anti-submarine frigates and destroyers, was to search for – and if required, to destroy – Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic. The 1982 Falklands War also demonstrated a requirement for the Royal Navy to maintain an expeditionary capability. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Royal Navy has been required to meet a wider range of objectives around the world, while experiencing a gradual reduction in the size of its surface fleet. Fixed-wing carrier operations ceased in 2010 with the retirement of the last Harrier GR7/GR9 aircraft. This capability will not be restored until the Joint Combat Aircraft (F-35) and the first become operational around 2020. Cuts have also seen the sale of three Type 23 frigates in 2005/6 and the early decommissioning of four Type 22 frigates in 2010/11. Over the course of the 1990s and the 2000s, the navy began series of projects to improve its fleet, with a view to providing enhanced capabilities, although many programmes were reduced in scale. This has led to the replacement of smaller and more numerous units with fewer, but larger, units. The main examples of this are the replacement of thirteen Type 42 destroyers with six Type 45s and the replacement of the three 20,000 tonne s with two operational 65,000 tonne ''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers. There are currently nine ships and submarines under construction: four s (boats 3-6), the two ''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers, which began construction in July 2009 and May 2011, and the three ocean-going patrol vessels to be delivered from 2017. Preparatory and design work has begun on the Global Combat Ship programme, which will replace the existing frigate fleet from 2021. In addition, the Navy's strategic nuclear role is being extended through the Trident Successor programme, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary will receive four Tide-class tankers by the end of the decade. ==Ships under construction== The following is a list of vessels currently under construction within the United Kingdom, and destined for the Royal Navy. It does not include Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Future of the Royal Navy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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