Engineering news
The Ministry of Defence has commissioned the fourth Astute Class submarine, HMS Audacious, in a contract worth £1.2 billion.
The deal with BAE Systems will safeguard 3,000 jobs at the company's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, in Cumbria, where a total of seven Astute Class submarines are being built.
Defence secretary Philip Hammond said: “This £1.2 billion contract marks an important step forward in the progress of the Astute programme and moves the Royal Navy closer to adding more of these highly advanced and powerful attack submarines to its fleet.”
John Hudson, managing director of BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines, also welcomed the decision. He said: “This is a very significant milestone for the company as it provides increased stability for the remainder of the programme.
“More than 5,000 people are employed at Submarines with over half of these directly involved in the Astute programme, many in highly skilled, specialist positions, so today’s announcement is hugely welcomed.”
Rear Admiral Simon Lister, the Ministry of Defence's director of Submarines, added: “The Astute Class will become the jewel in the crown of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service and boasts much greater firepower and more advanced sonar and communications than ever before.
“These submarines represent a huge leap forward in technology and will operate all over the world with the Royal Navy. These boats provide the optimum capability a submarine can offer in land strike, strategic intelligence-gathering, anti-submarine and surface ship warfare, and protection of the strategic deterrent.”
The MoD also announced that a further £1.5 billion has been committed to the remaining three submarines. The funding will enable work on Anson, the fifth submarine, to commence earlier than planned and long lead items to be ordered and bought for Astute Class vessels six and seven.
Audacious is the fourth of seven Astute Class submarines being built for the Royal Navy. Work began on Audacious in 2007, and the vessel is now in advanced stages of construction.
The first two submarines, Astute and Ambush, are currently undergoing sea trials while the third vessel, Artful, is also reaching final stages of construction at BAE's Barrow site.
Astute Class facts
- Submarines feature the latest Rolls-Royce nuclear-powered technology
- Vessels will never need to be refuelled and can circumnavigate the world submerged, manufacturing the crew's oxygen from seawater as they go
- The 7,400-tonne vessels are quieter than older submarines and can operate covertly and remain undetected despite being 50% bigger than the Royal Navy's current Trafalgar Class submarines