BAE Systems and Rolls Royce win £2bn contracts to boost submarine nuclear programme
BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce have been granted defence contracts worth more than £2bn to boost the country’s submarine-based nuclear deterrent.
The two companies will begin the third major phase of the country’s future nuclear deterrent programme, which will include the largest submarines ever built for the Royal Navy.
The investment is the latest financial commitment between the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.
It is also the initial funding round within a planned overall total of nearly £10bn for the entire delivery process.
The third delivery phase will see the first of four submarines, HMS Dreadnought, which will exit the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard to begin sea trials.
HMS Dreadnought will be part of the Dradnought Class, the largest selection of submarines in the Royal Navy’s history.
The programme is crucial to sustaining the UK’s Continuous at Sea Deterrence (CASD), and the overall programme supports around 30,000 jobs across the UK, all the way from early design through to build.
Supporting the UK Government’s levelling-up ambitions, this contract will boost the training and development of the Royal Navy men and women which will take to the water when HMS Dreadnought enters service in the early 2030s.
Defence procurement minister, Jeremy Quin said: “The Dreadnought Class will be crucial to maintaining and safeguarding our national security, with the nuclear deterrent protecting every UK citizen from the most extreme threats, every minute of every day. Designed in the UK, built in the UK and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in the UK, the Dreadnought programme is a leading example of our commitment to defence manufacturing and will continue to boost British industry for decades to come.”
Managing director, BAE Systems Submarines, Steve Timms said: “The Dreadnought Class will be one of the most complex machines ever built and it will operate in one of the most hostile environments on the planet. As the largest Class of submarine ever built for the Royal Navy, each will boast 26.4 miles of pipework and more than 20,000 cables stretching 215 miles – further than traveling between London and Leeds.”
President of Rolls-Royce Submarines, Steve Carlier added: “The four Dreadnought-Class submarines, each the length of three Olympic swimming pools, will maintain the CASD, responsible for safeguarding our national security and way of life, as long as the international security situation makes it necessary. “