Royal Navy: When will the 12 new "state-of-the-art" nuclear attack submarines enter the fleet?
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A timeline has been set out for when the new nuclear attack submarines will be produced.
The government announced in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) earlier this month that 12 new “state-of-the-art” vessels will be rolled out. A £15bn cash injection has been set aside as part of the government’s nuclear programme.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge asked in a parliamentary written question when he plans to produce the first of these submarines. Minister for defence procurement, Maria Eagle, clarified which stage of the project the government is in.
She said: “The SSNA Programme is currently in the detailed design phase, which includes determining crew numbers. The aim is to deliver the first UK submarines into service in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-Class vessels.”
Significant investment into the UK nuclear warhead programme and maintaining the existing stockpile are a few of the 62 recommendations the government accepted. The Ministry of Defence previously said building the new submarines will be part of the AUKUS partnership between the UK, US and Australia - supporting 30,000 highly skilled jobs into the 2030s. Various investment has also been set out for the Royal Navy.
A total of 30,000 apprenticeship and 14,000 graduated roles are expected to be supported across the next decade. Defence Secretary John Healey previously said: “Our outstanding submariners patrol 24/7 to keep us and our allies safe, but we know that threats are increasing and we must act decisively to face down Russian aggression.
“With new state-of-the-art submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme on British shores, we are making Britain secure at home and strong abroad, while delivering on our Plan for Change with 30,000 highly skilled jobs across the country.”
A fleet of up to 12 SSN-Aukus conventionally armed nuclear powered submarines will replace their seven Astute-class counterparts. Engineers are also focused on producing a new fleet of Dreadnought-class submarines. Four of these vessels are being produced at a cost of £41bn.