LONDON — The Royal Navy will switch to an operational mantra of fielding uncrewed vessels over crewed options whenever possible, according to Gen. Gwyn Jenkins, the chief of the U.K. Royal Navy.

“For 35 years, we have operated under the assumption of a peace dividend. My mission is to move Royal Navy to war-fighting readiness in the next four years,” Jenkins, who serves as the U.K.’s First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said during his keynote presentation at the 2025 DSEI UK show in London.

“We have a vision that will put our nation in the vanguard of autonomous maritime warfare. This will create a larger and more lethal fleet with a greater agility and resilience,” according to the general.

Jenkins said that, in its operational overhaul in the coming years, the U.K. Navy will be guided by a “simple but powerful principle: uncrewed when possible, and crewed only when necessary.”

“We will also have a hybrid air wing by the end of this decade, a fusion of crewed and uncrewed platforms,” he said.

The new unmanned capacities are to bolster the U.K.’s carrier strike group in the Indo-Pacific region, among others, according to the Navy chief.

Jenkins called the nation’s submarine-launched nuclear deterrent the Navy’s top priority, alongside enhancing the force’s “innovation, leadership and agility.”

However, he did not refer to the AUKUS agreement under which nuclear-powered submarine technology is to be shared between the United States, the U.K. and Australia.

At the same time, the general recognized the U.K. Navy requires urgent replacement of large segments of its aging fleet.

Jenkins named Type-23 frigates as an example of warships that, while originally designed for a service life of 18 years, are to have their lifespans doubled. Under the plan, the vessels are to be replaced by Type 26 frigates by 2035.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.