The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by providing fuel and stores through replenishment at sea, transporting Royal Marines and British Army personnel, providing medical care and transporting equipment and essentials around the world. In addition the RFA acts independently providing humanitarian aid, counter piracy and counter narcotic patrols together with assisting the Royal Navy in preventing conflict and securing international trade. They are a uniformed civilian branch of the Royal Navy staffed by British merchant sailors. The RFA is one of five RN fighting arms.
RFA Orangeleaf was a Leaf-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
RFA Diligence was a forward repair ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Launched in 1981 as a support ship for North Sea oil rigs, she was chartered by the British government to support naval activities during the 1982 Falklands War and was later bought outright as a fleet maintenance vessel. She gave assistance to the damaged USS Tripoli and Princeton in the 1991 Gulf War, and to Sri Lanka after the 2005 tsunami. She typically had deployments of 5-8 years in support of the Trafalgar-class submarine on duty east of Suez, with a secondary role as a mothership for British and US minesweepers in the Persian Gulf. Until 2016 Diligence was set to go out of service in 2020. However in August 2016, the UK Ministry of Defence placed an advert for the sale of RFA Diligence. As of 2016 the option for the delivery of future operational maintenance and repair capability for the RFA remained under consideration. However, the 2021 British defence white paper made no specific mention of the need for this capability. In April 2023, it was revealed that the ship was to be scrapped after no suitable buyers materialised, & she was moved out of 3 Basin across to Fareham Trots to await her final journey to the scrapyard.
RFA Argus is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary operated by the Ministry of Defence under the Blue Ensign. Italian-built, Argus was formerly the container ship MVContender Bezant. The ship was requisitioned in 1982 for service in the Falklands War and purchased outright in 1984 for a four-year conversion to an Aviation Training Ship, replacing RFA Engadine. In 1991, during the Gulf War, she was fitted with an extensive and fully functional hospital to assume the additional role of Primary Casualty Receiving Ship. In 2009, the PCRS role became the ship's primary function. Argus is due to remain in service beyond 2030. In July 2022 it was reported that the future Littoral Strike Role would be assumed by Argus after a refit to convert her to this role. As of October 2023, Argus had started her deployment to serve as part of Littoral Response Group (South) based out of the UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Oman.
RFA Fort Austin is a retired British Fort Rosalie-class dry stores ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
RFA Bayleaf (A109) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
RFA Fort Rosalie was the lead ship of her class of Royal Fleet Auxiliary fleet replenishment ships. Fort Rosalie was originally named RFA Fort Grange, but was renamed in May 2000 to avoid confusion with the now-decommissioned RFA Fort George. On 31 March 2021, the ship was withdrawn from service.
RFA Brambleleaf (A81) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Originally built as MV Hudson Deep she was chartered by the Ministry of Defence in 1980.
RFA Olna (A123) was the third and final of the three Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Olna saw service in the Falklands War.
RFA Engadine (K08) was a helicopter support ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
RFA Wave Laird (A119) was an 8,187 GRT Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was built in 1946 as Empire Dunbar by Sir J Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham for the Ministry of Transport and completed at Wave Laird. She served until 1961 when she was laid up at HMNB Devonport. Wave Laird was scrapped in 1970 in Spain.
RFA Fort Rosalie (A186) was an armament stores carrier of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
RFA Sir Geraint (L3027) was a Landing Ship Logistic of the Round Table class. She saw service in the Falklands War and Sierra Leone.
RFA Resource was an armament stores ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit corporation operating a news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of providing accurate and uncensored reporting to countries in Asia that have poor media environments and limited protections for press freedom and freedom of speech.
HMAS Westralia was a modified Leaf-class replenishment oiler which served with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1989 to 2006. Formerly RFA Appleleaf (A79), she served in with the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) from 1975 to 1989. The ship was initially leased to the RAN, then purchased outright in 1994. In 1998, a fire onboard resulted in the deaths of four sailors. Westralia was decommissioned in 2006, and the ship was sold into civilian service for use as a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, under the name Shiraz. However, the ship was laid up in Indonesia until late 2009, when she was sold to a Turkish ship breaking company. Arriving in January 2010, the vessel was scrapped.
Wave Ruler was a 8,138 GRT Wave-class oiler that was built in 1946 as Empire Evesham by Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Haverton Hill-on-Tees, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the British Ministry of Transport. In 1947, she was transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned into the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) as Wave Ruler. She was in active service until 1970 when she was hulked in the Maldive Islands, serving RAF Gan until 1975. She was sold in 1976 and scrapped in Taiwan in 1977.
RRS Discovery II was a British Royal Research Ship which, during her operational lifetime of about 30 years, carried out considerable hydrographical and marine biological survey work in Antarctic waters and the Southern Ocean in the course of the Discovery Investigations research program. Built in Port Glasgow, launched in 1928 and completed in 1929, she was the first purpose-built oceanographic research vessel and was named after Robert Falcon Scott's 1901 ship, RRS Discovery.
RFA Tidesurge is a Tide-class replenishment tanker of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). Built by DSME in 2017, she entered service with the RFA on 20 February 2019.
United Kingdom