Fleet Commander

For other uses, see Fleet Commander (disambiguation).

Fleet Commander
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Incumbent Vice Admiral Steve Moorhouse since 5 September 2025
Ministry of Defence Royal Navy
Member of	Admiralty Board, Navy Board, Navy Command
Reports to	First Sea Lord
Nominator	Secretary of State for Defence, on advice from the Defence Council
Appointer	Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term length	Not fixed (typically 1–4 years)
Inaugural holder	Admiral George Zambellas
Formation	2012

Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service. The vice-admiral incumbent is required to provide ships, submarines and aircraft ready for operations, and is based at Navy Command Headquarters.

The post was created in April 2012 following a reorganisation of the Royal Navy and a re-designation of the former role of Commander-in-Chief Fleet. ^[1]

Responsibilities

The fleet commander's purpose is to provide ships, submarines and aircraft ready for any operations that the government requires. ^[1]

The fleet commander's major subordinates included as of September 2020: ^[2]

• Commander Operations
• Commander United Kingdom Strike Force
• Director Force Generation - Commodore Steve Moorhouse was promoted to Rear Admiral and became Director 14 January 2022 on the promotion of Martin Connell to Vice Admiral and Connell's appointment as Second Sea Lord. ^[3]
• Commandant General Royal Marines ^[4]

The previous post of Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Training)/Flag Officer Sea Training ^[5] was disestablished in May-June 2020. It was superseded by Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training, and in the process the senior Sea Training officer was regraded downwards from a rear admiral to a commodore. ^[6]

The British Army equivalent is Commander Field Army. The RAF's Air and Space Commander is the close equivalent of the two positions. ^[7]

List of fleet commanders

Fleet Commander

Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff [8]
Image	Rank	Name	Term began	Term ended
	Admiral	Sir George Zambellas [9]	April 2012	December 2012
	Vice Admiral	Sir Philip Jones	December 2012	February 2016
Fleet Commander and Chief Naval Warfare Officer [10]
	Vice Admiral	Ben Key [10]	February 2016	March 2019
	Vice Admiral	Jerry Kyd [11]	March 2019	September 2021
	Vice Admiral	Andrew Burns [12]	September 2021	September 2025
	Vice Admiral	Steve Moorhouse [13]	September 2025

Deputy Fleet Commander

• April–December 2012: Vice Admiral Sir Philip Jones ^[14]
• Position Vacant ^{[15] [16]}

See also

• List of serving senior officers of the Royal Navy

References

1. "Navy Board".
2. "How Defence Works Version 6.0 Sep2020" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. UK MOD. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020. page 28
3. "A real privilege to assume the role of Director Force Generation for the Royal Navy. I have the telescope!!".
4. "Freedom of Information Response" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
5. "Navy Command senior, as of April 2017 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. MOD UK. 30 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
6. "Who is the new Flag Officer Sea Training" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. Whatdotheyknow. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020. In response to your request, I can advise you that the title Flag Officer Sea Training will cease to exist on 1 May 2020 and is replaced by the 1* post of Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training
7. "Air Command senior, as of September 2012 - GOV.UK". assets.publishing.service.gov.uk.
8. "Navy Command senior, as of March 2014" . Retrieved 26 November 2016.
9. Ups and outs: October 2012 Defence Viewpoints
10. "Royal Navy appoints new Fleet Commander". Royal Navy. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
11. "Royal Navy Appoints New Senior Officers". Forces.net. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
12. "Royal Navy appoints new Fleet Commander". Royal Navy. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
13. "New Fleet Commnder takes over Royal Navy role". 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
14. Royal Navy’s Deputy Fleet Commander Visits UK Hydrographic Office Subsea World News, 30 July 2012
15. "Navy senior staff, March 2013".
16. Peter, Jeff. "Fleet training" . Retrieved 13 April 2024.

• "Ministry of Defence Organogram". data.gov.uk. MOD 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
• "Royal Navy Directory 2017" (PDF). Royal Navy. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

External links

• Fleet Commander