The British Navy plans the future of its nuclear submarines in advance. Yesterday, on September 19, the press service of the Royal Navy reported that the UK Ministry of Defense has allocated the first tranche in the amount of £170 million under the SSN-Replacement (SSNR) program.
The SSNR program is designed to develop new nuclear submarines that will have to complement and later replace Astute-type submarines. Similar to their predecessors, they will be non-strategic (without nuclear weapons).
Astute-type submarines under construction
Image source: thedrive.com
Under the contract, the contractor companies BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce received £85 million each. It is planned that the design stage will take three years, after which the project will move to the stage of detailed design and procurement of materials.
Astute-class submarine HMS Anson
Image source: navalnews.com
The British Fleet has four active Astute-type submarines, the fifth is undergoing final tests, and two more are at the final stage of construction. The Astute-class submarines have a displacement of 7,400 tons and a length of 97 m, are armed with Spearfish torpedoes of 533 mm caliber, as well as Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles. Submarines can reach a speed of 29 knots and dive to a depth of about 300 m. The crew of each nuclear-powered vessel consists of 98 people.