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First Sea Lord tells Royal Navy to increase its readiness for war
25 February 2026
The Royal Navy’s leaders of tomorrow are being called upon to adapt to an ever-changing geopolitical situation and be ready to face new challenges.
First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said the UK faces an open and vulnerable northern border, with Scotland on the front line against Russia's expanding naval presence.
In response, the Royal Navy must increase its readiness for war and take the lead in uniting Northern European navies against Russia's growing threat in the Arctic and Atlantic.
Opening the Royal Navy’s 2026 Warfighting Conference the First Sea Lord continued: “Despite Russia's egregious war against Ukraine, where millions have been killed or injured for modest gains in territory, Russia has continued to pump huge resources into its Northern Fleet and increasingly capable sub-surface capabilities.
“Right now, we are being tested in the Atlantic – our own back yard. These are unstable and dangerous times. Our job is to protect our island nation. We are the first and last line of defence for the United Kingdom."
General Jenkins announced that the United Kingdom will convene Northern European Navy Chiefs in London this April. The summit, hosted and led by the Royal Navy, will focus on increasing joint efforts to meet shared and growing threats from Russia's Northern Fleet. It will also discuss ways to enhance coordination of sallied responses to hybrid threats – including Russian shadow fleet shipping and probes against critical national infrastructure on the seabed.
"I am bringing together the Northern European Navies to develop our combined approach to the growing threat in the North," General Jenkins said. "The United Kingdom is taking the lead because this threat demands a unified response, and our geography, capability and historic role in these waters mean we must be at the forefront.
"Only through strength, delivered by operating and developing even more closely together, will we face down the threats we now face."
The First Sea Lord made clear that protecting the northern approaches to the Atlantic is essential to the security of the United Kingdom and all of NATO.
"Our new Atlantic Fleet strategy provides the basis: Atlantic Bastion to protect our sensitive waters; Atlantic Shield to defend against attacks from the sky in the vulnerable North; and Atlantic Strike to hold our adversaries' most sensitive areas at risk and to assure of interests in the Arctic," he said. "Because if we lose the Norwegian coast, we cannot keep the Atlantic open."
Only through strength, delivered by operating and developing even more closely together, will we face down the threats we now face.
The Navy Chiefs summit will build on the UK's close defence relationship with Norway, including the recent shipbuilding agreement between the two nations, and demonstrates UK leadership in coordinating the allied naval response to Russian aggression.
General Jenkins reiterated the Royal Navy's commitment to building a hybrid fleet, combining crewed vessels with autonomous and uncrewed systems to meet evolving threats.
"Uncrewed warfare is here. Artificial intelligence is here. And if we are not practising at the scale and pace that we would expect to see in conflict, then we are failing now," he said.
"The pace of technological change will never again be as slow as it is today. Technologies are combining. They are proliferating. The environment we operate in is transforming faster than at any point in our naval history.
"In order to meet this challenge, we must work together with our key allies. I outlined at the Paris Naval Conference the importance of working with our key allies in adapting to this evolving technological world and adopting new approaches across our allied nations to meet the threats before us."
The First Sea Lord made clear that resource constraints can no longer serve as an excuse, and the Royal Navy must be prepared to fight with the ships, equipment and personnel it currently has.
"And this is where I must be absolutely clear: we fight with what we've got," he said. "This is not a slogan. It is a statement of intent. It is the hard yards of leadership excellence that will determine whether we succeed or fail."
Over the course of two days, conference delegates also heard from senior Royal Navy leaders and academic experts about the evolving threat, emerging plans, and what now needs to be done to become warfighting ready.