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Royal Navy SSN-AUKUS class Nuclear Attack Submarine |
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| 12/25 | |
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| up to 12 units planned as of 2025 | |
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The SSN-AUKUS, also known as the SSN-A and the Aukus class
submarine, is a planned class of nuclear-powered attack submarine
(SSN) intended to enter service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy
in the late 2030s. The class will replace the
Astute class submarines. The UK commenced an Astute class replacement project in 2018, which was later named the Submersible Ship Nuclear Replacement (SSNR). The ongoing SSNR design was renamed SSN-AUKUS in March 2023, under the 2021 AUKUS trilateral security partnership, when Australia joined the programme and additional US technology was incorporated into the design. The UK plans to build up to twelve SSN-AUKUS submarines. When in service with the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, submarine crews will train and patrol together and undertake joint maintenance and support. Components and parts will be shared with the US. The class will be powered by Rolls-Royce's pressurised water reactors (PWR). The submarines will displace over 10,000 tonnes. The United Kingdom began planning for the replacement of the Astute class of submarines in early 2018. The concept phase was scheduled to last for three years to assess requirements and consider options but was suspended for two years due to delays in the Astute class and Dreadnought class SSBN delivery programmes. In 2020, the Ministry of Defence recruited for a Submarine Delivery Agency Project Manager to work on the SSNR design and development process. In March 2021, the government's defence paper Defence in a Competitive Age committed to funding the SSNR project. This was followed in September 2021 by an investment of £170 million by the government in the form of two £85 million contracts to BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce Holdings for early design work on the SSNR. The investment will support 350 jobs for the UK economy. In November 2022, MSubs was awarded a £15.4m contract to build an XLUUV (Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle) vessel which is to be delivered to the Royal Navy within two years. The 17-tonne vessel (known as Project Cetus) is described as being "the next step in developing autonomous underwater warfare capability" and is also to feed into the design of SSNR. The MSubs offering was delayed and eventually commissioned as HMS Excalibur in 2025. In parallel BAE Systems have developed an XLAUV (Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) Herne, demonstrated in November 2024 as another offering in the Underwater Battlespace. In January 2023, it was reported that the submarines were likely to incorporate a vertical launching system (VLS) for land-attack missiles. This would be a first for Royal Navy submarines, which currently launch land-attack missiles via their torpedo tubes. A VLS system was described as likely to increase interoperability options with the US Navy since future US land attack missiles may not have a horizontal launch option. AUKUS: Following an 18-month consultation starting in September 2021, the design was renamed SSN-AUKUS in March 2023 when Australia joined the programme and additional US technology was incorporated, both as part of the AUKUS agreement. The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in March 2023 that the UK would boost defence spending by additional £5 billion over two years, some of which would go towards funding "the next phase of the AUKUS submarine programme." The Royal Navy boats will be built by BAE Systems. The first SSN-AUKUS class boat for the Royal Navy will commence construction in Barrow-in-Furness as early as the late 2020s and is expected to be operational as early as the late 2030s. As of 2023, the workforce at Barrow-in-Furness was being expanded from 10,000 to 17,000 to support both the Dreadnought class program and the SSN-AUKUS class. The SSN-AUKUS class will be powered by a Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor (PWR), manufactured at an expanded Rolls Royce Raynesway site in Derby. Australia is to invest A$4.6 billion (£2.4 billion) to allow the expansion of Rolls Royce's Derby site, and alongside funding from the UK Ministry of Defence, the site will double in size creating a further 1170 jobs needed to support the delivery of the Australian boats. In October 2023, the UK government announced a series of contracts with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock International, collectively worth £4 billion, to support the design and development of the submarine class up to 2028. These contracts will fund the finalization of the submarine design, as well as procure long-lead items for the first UK submarine. In January 2025, Rolls-Royce was awarded a c. £9 billion, 8-year contract, named "Unity", by the UK Ministry of Defence. This contract includes the design, manufacture and support of all nuclear reactors in Royal Navy submarines. This will support the beginning of the previously announced SSN-AUKUS contracts. In June 2025, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that the UK would build up to 12 SSN-AUKUS submarines. It is claimed the programme would support 30,000 jobs into the 2030s, as well as 30,000 apprenticeships and 14,000 graduate roles across the next 10 years. According to the official plan, the expanded facilities at Barrow and Raynesway are estimated to result in the build of a new submarine every 18 months. Some analysis suggested this objective was too optimistic and unlikely to be realised, without a significant expansion of submarine-building capacity. source: wikipedia+ |
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