Contracts worth £350m have been awarded to British defence firms, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock, for the design and development of the Royal Navy's next generation ballistic missile submarines, which will replace the current four Vanguard class ballistic missile submarines by 2030.
The first of the successor submarines is expected to be delivered into service in 2028, around the time when the last of the current Vanguard-class submarines will be ending its service life. BAE has been awarded £328m for the design work, Rolls-Royce has been awarded £4m for the initial intergration of the PWR3 nuclear reactor which is to be used on the submarines and £15m has been awarded to Babcock for work on the in-service support.
It will not be until 2016 that a final design will be decided for the submarines, but work is to begin early to ensure that the submarines are designed to be the most-technologically advanced around.
This news reaffirms the government's commitment to retaining the UK's nuclear deterrent right into the future.
ABOVE: The submarines which are to be replaced.
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