Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a civilian-crewed fleet owned by the UK Ministry of Defence that supports Royal Navy operations with logistics, fuel, ammunition, supplies, and specialist capabilities including mine countermeasures. In May 2026 RFA Lyme Bay, a Bay-class landing ship dock repurposed as a mine-countermeasures mothership, sailed from Gibraltar toward a potential Strait of Hormuz mine-clearance mission carrying the autonomous minehunter RNMB Ariadne and Project Beehive Kraken uncrewed surface vessels.

The RFA was established in 1905 and operates under the Merchant Navy's terms and conditions, employing civilian mariners rather than Royal Navy personnel. Its ships are marked with the Blue Ensign and a gold anchor rather than the White Ensign. In the mine countermeasures role, using a civilian-crewed ship as the autonomous systems mothership keeps Royal Navy crews further from the threat: sailors aboard Lyme Bay operate the uncrewed assets from a SAFE distance rather than sailing crewed Hunt-class minehunters over the mines directly.

RFA Lyme Bay's role as a mothership for autonomous mine-clearance systems represents an evolution in how the RFA supports Royal Navy operations. The recovery of RNMB Ariadne into Lyme Bay on 27 May was the first time a crewless Royal Navy minehunter was recovered into a mothership at sea, a milestone that validates the RFA platform for autonomous systems operations.